We're all gonna play RENT
by Boredette
Summary: New Directions put on a production of RENT. There will be drama. I'm listing this as Kurtofsky because I'll probably write the most about them. Also Quartie, Finchel, Samcedes, Klaine, Tike, Britana, Pizes and Wemma.
1. Idea

**A/N: Okay, y'alls. I've been thinking long and hard about this. This is my ultimate. If Glee did RENT (you know, more than the one song they've already done) I would die of happiness.**

**I know I'm going to piss off some fans of the stage show, but I've never seen the stage show. I'm from a third-world country, don't judge me. Well, South Africa's not too bad, but it's still bloody expensive to go see a proper performance.**

**Because of this, this fic will be strongly based on the movie and soundtrack. As the characters are from Lima, I can find it easy to assume none of them have ever seen RENT on stage either, with the exception of Rachel, perhaps. Don't hate me! :)**

**So after that long-winded introduction, let us begin. Enjoy and review if you want :)**

Will was at his wit's end. It was the last day before the summer vacation and he faced a dilemma. He wanted to work with the New Directions through the summer because he wanted to take them to new heights in what would be the final year at McKinley for many of them. He had, however, never seen them so disinterested in performing. Most of them seemed more interested the recent revelations of a few of their classmates. David and Santana had recently broken up and when they did, they both admitted that they were gay.

If he was honest with himself, he would say that he didn't see it coming, though it explained much of their aggression. He couldn't imagine how he would feel if he had to keep such a huge secret to himself. What he found disappointing about the whole situation was how the glee club was reacting to it. Bar Kurt, Rachel and Brittany, gossip flew between the kids as easily as if they were breathing - or so Brad had told him. That guy saw _everything_.

Will sighed. There had to be a way of dealing with the gossip problem and getting them into the feel of the summer glee sessions. He didn't want these practices to be like glee club. It was their summer vacation, after all. The last thing they needed was to be reminded of school.

So deep was Will in his thoughts, that he almost didn't hear someone knocking on his office door. He looked up and saw Kurt, looking concerned.

"Come in, Kurt," said Will, sitting up straighter behind his desk. He motioned to the seat in front of his desk and Kurt pulled it out and sat down. "What can I help you with?"

"Mr Schuester, you know I love the glee club. All of them. Even the ones I hate." Will nodded, a small smile on his face at Kurt's sense of humour. "Well, I'm just worried about the way they're gossiping about Santana and David. They took a huge step and well, now I'm just worried that it's going to make their lives miserable. Santana is supposed to feel safe in glee club and if David ever does decide to join, it needs to be safe for him then too."

"I know what you mean," replied Will. "I've been looking for a way to make summer rehearsals interesting, but also address the whisperers. I can't think of anything."

"If I may, Mr Schue, " Kurt interjected, "it sounds like we need a project. Not just like our weekly assignments – we need something big and distracting. We need to put on a musical."

Will pondered the thought for a moment. Musicals were a lot of work and he wondered if they could pull it off in less than two months. If they did commit fully to it, it would be an amazing distraction. Not to mention that it could be the perfect opportunity to raise some money for transport and costumes. Will liked the idea.

"I like it," smiled Will. "Did you have anything in mind?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."

...

'**RENT**' Will wrote in large letters across the board. He turned to see the reaction from his students. Rachel, Kurt and Tina appeared so excited, he thought they might explode, while the rest looked at him with confused expressions.

"Mr Schue, I know things have been tight with the glee budget, but you can't expect us to pay rent now. It's not right," said Finn, looking serious.

"Yeah, Mr S, that sucks," said Puck, frowning.

"As funny as it is to listen to your obvious worry and confusion, I simply must interject and say that I find it appalling that none of you have ever heard of RENT. It's only one of the biggest Broadway musicals ever," said Rachel, genuinely offended. Will had to fight not to laugh. She always took everything as a personal insult. He decided to intervene before she decided to draw blood.

"To prepare us for the year ahead, we are going to be putting on a production of the musical. It's an amazing story with a great message. Your assignment: hire the movie, get the soundtrack. Familiarise yourself with the story, characters and the music. I want everyone to prepare a song from the musical to audition with."

He dismissed them and they all began to buzz excitedly. All except Mike Chang, who made his way over to Will looking worried.

"Mr Schue, can I just not audition and help you with choreography or something?" he asked.

"That'd be great, Mike," smiled Will, "but I still expect you to watch the movie. If you're going to choreograph, you need to understand the characters and the music."

He noticed Brittany walking past holding hands with Santana.

"Brittany, can I have a word?" he asked and she stopped to listen. "Would you like to help Mike with the choreography?"

"Sorry, but I'm no good at painting," said Brittany miserably.

"He means making up the dances, Britt," explained Santana.

"Oh, yeah. That would be awesome," she said.

"Great," grinned Will. He already had choreographers. This was going better than he could have hoped. Now all he had to do was worry about how he was going to structure the auditions.

...

Rachel watched the movie for what she was sure was the millionth time. It was perfect. Finn would undoubtedly get the role of Rodger, the tormented rock star and she, Rachel Berry, would get the role of Mimi, the exotic dancer and love interest of Rodger. Excited at the prospect of it bringing them closer, she began to rehearse "Out Tonight" for the fiftieth time that day, but not before texting Finn to remind him of who he was auditioning for.

Finn liked Rodger. He was confused and he could relate to that. The actor in the movie had some insane vocals, though. He didn't know how he was going to measure up. Part of him considered opting for Mark instead, but after the millionth call from Rachel reminding him that he **was** going to be auditioning for the part of Rodger, Finn figured that he should get to work on his audition song. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with pissed off Rachel.

Santana would be damned if she was going to be playing Maureen. She was already getting enough flack for being out of the closet without adding a character to the mix. No, Santana wanted to play Mimi. She was kind of skanky, but only because she had baggage she was trying to hide. Santana felt an instant connection. She had no problems with playing sexy, but she also knew she could pull off vulnerable Mimi too. She sang her number over and over again until her mother told her to shut up and even then she hummed it. She was going to get that role.

Kurt knew he would be playing Angel, and that suited him perfectly. The character had been an inspiration to him when he was still in the closet and to play him would be a huge honour. He knew that no one else would be auditioning for the role and that his casting was pretty certain. All the same, he practised "Today 4 U" so many times that Burt had to come into his room and beg him to sing a different song. Any song, as long as it was a different song.

While Kurt was over the moon about the whole thing, he knew that none of the glee boys would audition for the role of Collins, Angel's love interest. This thought irritated him. He didn't know of any person who would consider taking the role – unless...

"David?" asked Kurt five minutes later on the phone.

"Oh, hey Kurt" replied Dave in a friendly tone."What's up?"

"Well," said Kurt, wondering how he was going to phrase this, "you know how you told me that RENT was one of your favourite movies?"

"Yeah?" replied Dave, sounding confused.

"Well, glee club is putting on a production of RENT over the vacation. I remember that you have an amazing voice and you act pretty well too. I was kind of hoping you would want to audition."

There was silence on Dave's side for a while and Kurt was about to ask if he was still there, when he said, "I really want to, Kurt..."

"But?" asked Kurt.

"I'm worried about stirring things even more than I already have."

"Please, Dave, please don't let what people say stop you from doing something that will make you happy," said Kurt softly.

"I'll think about it." There was silence on the line for a few moments. "Thanks for the call."

Kurt sighed. "You're welcome."

Dave hung up and the rhythmic beeping of the dial-off came back to him. Kurt sighed and lay back on his bed. He would call Blaine over and talk to him about it. He wanted him to hear his Angel anyway. If he couldn't convince David, he would make sure that he could get Blaine to play Collins. That role was going to be filled. And by someone who deserved it.

...

Dave sighed as he hung up. His heart had raced when Kurt had mentioned the stage production. Now that he was out, he could admit to himself that some of the things he had cut himself off from, would make him really happy and being in RENT would be one of those things. But he couldn't do it.

Could he?

**A/N Kinda lame chapter, but it's the first, so hopefully it gets better. **

**Thank you for reading! Please review if you want. All creative criticism is welcome and appreciated. xx**


	2. Auditions

Puck didn't like to admit it, but he was nervous. He knew it was stupid to be. These were the same people he sang with every week. It's not like he wasn't comfortable around them. It's just that he really wanted to be a part of this. And not just a part – he wanted an important part. He wanted to play Rodger. He played guitar, he had an awesome voice for rock and he knew that he looked the part. Much more than Finn did anyway. Plus, he knew that it would impress his girl, which at this stage was still important. However, having so much at stake had affected his ability to play it cool. He was a wreck and he was trying hard not to show it.

"Puck, you're up," called Mr Schuester from somewhere in the auditorium. Puck nervously made his way from backstage and stood centre-stage.

"What role are you auditioning for?" asked Miss Pillsbury who was sitting next to Mr Schue.

"Rodger," said Puck, trying to keep the quaver in his voice down.

"Great," she replied as she took this down, "and what song will you be auditioning with?"

"One S-song Glory," Puck responded. God, did he just stammer? What was happening to the Puckasaurus?

"Awesome, take it away."

Puck, to his amazement, found that once the music started, there was nothing to worry about it. He tried to put as much of his own attitude into performing it as he could. After all, Rodger was going to be a part of him for the next few months; he might as well be as similar to the Puck-man as possible. As he sang, he really felt like he was another person and it was amazing.

When he finished, he noticed all the glee club standing and applauding. Some of the guys whistled their approval.

"Whoa, Puck!" said Mr Schuester, grinning. "I don't think we've ever seen you perform like that."

"Thanks, Mr S," said Puck, grinning. He knew that he had kicked ass. He looked to where Lauren was sitting and she winked at him in approval. Heart swelling with pride, he was about to jump off the stage when Mr Schue stopped him.

"We just need to know why you're auditioning for the role of Rodger," said Will.

"Well, he's a badass who's made some stupid choices in his life and is now trying to make them right, to the point where he doesn't want to do anything that might get anyone hurt. I feel like we've got a lot in common," Puck said, shrugging nonchalantly. It was a lot easier to be the old Puck now that it was over.

"Good answer. Well, we'll let you know about it at the end of the auditions," replied Mr Schuester and called for the next audition.

Sam followed Mercedes reluctantly onto the stage. He didn't really want to be auditioning at all, but Mercedes had asked him to sing with her, since the character she wanted to audition for pretty much only did duets. Plus, he couldn't afford to get the movie or the soundtrack, so the only way he could familiarise himself with the characters and music was to watch it at Mercedes' house.

He had to admit - he was really starting to like her, but he didn't know if he wanted those feelings. He didn't have a great history with girls and Mercedes was nice. He didn't want to hurt her. He told himself that she could carry one being the awesome friend.

Without him realising, he had zoned out while Mercedes had explained their situation and now the intro to 'Tango: Maureen' was playing. He didn't want to play any of the characters, but of all of them, Sam _really_ didn't want to play Mark. He did, however, enjoy singing with Mercedes. The song was pretty awesome and Mercedes' mom had taught them some basic tango steps so that they could make their performance more believable. It had actually gone pretty smoothly, Sam found himself thinking as they finished.

Just like he did with Puck's audition, Mr Schuester asked the two of them why they wanted to audition for their particular roles. Sam was quick to say that he didn't want to play Mark or any other character part. He was just helping Mercedes out. Mr Schuester nodded and asked Mercedes. She explained that she connected with Joanne because Joanne was often taken for granted and that's how she felt sometimes.

"Plus, she has some killer solos," Mercedes added. Mr Schuester laughed thanked them and called Artie who was auditioning for the role of Bennie.

One by one the students sang. Will and Emma found that some kids were perfect for the roles they auditioned for while others seemed to be harder to place. They had a pretty good idea of who could play who and they just needed to finalise their ideas. So, once everyone had auditioned, apart from those that didn't want a part, Will and Emma asked them to wait outside while they made their final decisions.

It was a pretty easy process. The kids had really taken the auditions seriously and had done an amazing job. Some automatically got their part as they were the only people who auditioned for that role, but others required a bit more thought. They were just discussing the need for an actor for a certain character when Will looked up and saw David Karofsky walk across the stage.

"David, are you here to audition?" asked Will, pleasantly surprised.

"I think so," he replied, looking uncertain.

"Great," said Will, smiling. He knew that David was a good performer. He looked a nervous wreck, though. Emma noticed the same thing.

"Look, David, there's no pressure," she said, with a smile. "Just take a deep breath, tell us who you're auditioning for and what song you'll be singing."

"I, uh, I'm going to be auditioning for Collins with "I'll Cover You". The reprise." He said nervously. Brad nodded and began to play the intro. As the piano died away, Dave began to sing, his strong, clear voice carrying beautifully through the auditorium.

"Oh my God, Will," said Emma, her eyes wide, grabbing Will's wrist in surprise. Will felt the hairs on his arms stand on end. David was amazing. He had thought he was good when they were doing the Thriller mash-up, but this... this was unreal.

When he had finished, he looked nervously up at them, unsure of what to do. Will was speechless for a second or two, but remembered to ask him why he wanted the role.

"I'm tired of hiding, Mr Schuester. I haven't come out to my dad yet and I want to after the show. I need to be Collins."

Will nodded, thanked him and told him to go join the others while they made their final decisions. It wasn't necessary. Will and Emma looked seriously at each . Their casting was decided.

...

"Before I announce who got what role, can I just say how incredibly blown away I am by all of you? Some of you really came out of your shells today," said Will from the stage. They all gave small smiles, clearly wishing him to just get on with it.

"Without further ado," he continued, "your cast: Angel will be played by Kurt." There was a smattering of applause and Kurt nodded a thank you, with a huge grin on his face.

"Bennie will be played by Artie," Will said, reading off of the list in his hand pausing for applause after each one. "Mark will be played by Finn. Joanne will be played by Mercedes. Maureen will be played by Rachel. Mimi will be played by Santana. Rodger will be played by Puck and Collins will be played by David."

Everyone turned around to look at him in surprise. Nobody was sure why he was there, but the last thing they suspected was that he was auditioning for a main part. All of them, apart from Kurt (who beamed at him), looked at him as if he had just beamed in from another planet.

"Could the cast please meet me in the front?" Will asked, trying to take from the awkwardness of the situation. "Miss Pillsbury wants to talk to the rest of you about things you can help with in the show."

While the others gathered around Emma, the main cast all made their way onto the stage. He looked at them properly and found himself completely satisfied. They were all strong singers and not one of them was shy. Admittedly, he was worried about Finn having to do a tango, but that would be something for Brittany, Mike and possibly Mercedes' doctor to sort out.

The cast themselves, however, looked far less happy with the situation. Rachel looked practically homicidal and everyone else was still staring at David. Only Kurt seemed perfectly satisfied and ready to get on with the work. Will decided he would have to work with the group dynamics – have them spend time together and get to know each other. They would have to at least get along if they were going to be playing best friends.

"Okay, guys," said Will, handing out scripts, "from this point on, we work. You are going to make or break this for us, so I need you focussed on being the best you can be. This week will be RENT boot-camp. We will be picking each of your characters apart, discussing them and trying to help each other fully discover what their character is about. I don't want this to be a carbon copy of any other production, because this is ours. We need to make it ours."

The group nodded seriously back at him.

"So can I count on you?" Will added in a deadly serious voice. They needed to know that he wasn't joking around. They had to be committed. All of them nodded and murmured their "yes".

"Great, well, I'll see you all tomorrow at nine for our first workshop. Go get a good night's rest and come ready in the morning." The cast left and only Rachel stayed behind. Will, guessing what was going to happen next, took the preemptive strike. "Rachel, I know you're upset that you're not Mimi, but I need you to be Maureen. Maureen's vocals are some of the toughest in the musical and there's no way Santana could pull them off." Rachel glared at her shoes.

"It's an ensemble cast. No one is more important than another. I chose you for Maureen because I know that's where you'll shine brightest. If I'm wrong, I give you full permission to tell me so. But only after the play."

Rachel looked up. "Fine," she said, before storming off to go look for Finn.

As Will looked over to where Emma was discussing minor characters, stage hands and AV needs, he caught her eye. Emma blushed and carried on with what she was talking about, now with small smile playing on her features. The last time they had attempted to put on a musical it had been to impress her. This time was no different.

And this time he actually had a chance.

**A/N: I can't tell you how long I spent thinking about which character would be perfect for each part, but I can tell you that I had a hell of a lot of fun doing it. What do you guys think?**

**As always, thanks for reading! :D **


	3. Characterisation

**A/N: First, sorry it's taken so long get the new chapter up. College has been keeping me busy. Secondly, thank you to all the amazing reviewers. You make this so rewarding :)**

**So without further ado, Chapter 3:**

* * *

><p>Kurt felt the stress of the past few weeks ebb away as he lay on his towel next to Blaine, soaking up the summer sun in the Hummel-Hudson backyard. They had been in the water for the greater part of the afternoon and as pleasant as the cool water was on such a sweltering day, it did get cold after a while. Kurt felt his boyfriend's hand in his and realised how awesome the past year had actually been. The only thing that could break the magic of the moment was Kurt's respect and love for his flawless skin.<p>

"Blaine, I think it's time to cream up again," said Kurt seriously, letting go of his hand.

"Really? We put on sunscreen like five minutes ago," said Blaine, sounding miserable at the prospect of having to move from his comfortable position. Kurt rolled his eyes and lifted himself up.

"It was a half hour ago and you only put some on your face," he said, squirting the contents of the blue bottle onto his hand and then rubbing it into his arms and torso.

"Well, we've been lying out here for an hour and I'm not burnt, am I?" said Blaine. Kurt had to agree on this point. Instead of the bright red hue that would have graced his complexion had he gone that long without sunscreen, Blaine's skin had taken on a darker, golden hue.

"Well, that's hardly fair," said Kurt, with a slightly envious tone in his voice. "The only time I've ever had a tan was that time I experimented with tinted moisturiser. Never going there again."

Blaine laughed softly and pushed his sunglasses down to get a closer look at Kurt. "I happen to adore your complexion." Despite himself, he rolled over and lifted himself gingerly from the towel.

"Wow, it moves," said Kurt sarcastically, with a small smile to indicate that it was friendly banter.

"Is that so, Hummel?" Blaine replied, picking up the abandoned bottle of sunscreen and squirting some of it into his hand.

"Don't tell me you're actually going to use all of that?" said Kurt in mock-sarcasm again, indicating the large dollop of cream in his hand.

"Actually..." said Blaine, placing the creamed-up hand on Kurt's back. Kurt grinned and allowed him to rub it into his back and shoulders.

"So, I have something amazing to tell you," said Kurt as Blaine massaged his shoulders.

"What's that?" asked Blaine.

"Well, Mr Schuester wanted to give us something to do over the summer to keep us on-form but to also distract us from all the Karofsky-Santana drama, so he's decided to put on a musical," Kurt said, barely containing the excitement in his voice.

"That's so exciting. Wait - not... not RENT?" said Blaine, pausing what he was doing and almost squealing when Kurt nodded. "Oh my God, Kurt, tell me you're auditioning?"

"Auditioned. Past tense. You're looking at the man who will be playing Angel in the McKinley production of RENT."

Blaine crouched down in front of Kurt, cupped his face in his hands and kissed him gently. "I'm so proud of you," he said when he pulled away. It took a moment for Kurt to collect himself again. He still wasn't completely used to just being kissed out of nowhere.

"That's not even the best part," said Kurt smiling.

"Well don't hold out on me," said Blaine excitedly.

"Mr Schuester wanted me to ask you if you'd consider asking some of the Warblers to be extras and if you'd consider being an understudy since we need two and we only have Sam left over."

Blaine grinned stupidly. "Of course I would. I mean, first of all it's RENT and second of all it's you. How else am I going to guarantee spending excessive amounts of time with you this summer otherwise?"

Kurt kissed him on the cheek. "You're amazing," he said staring into his boyfriend's beautiful green eyes for a moment before jumping up and dive-bombing into the pool, splashing Blaine with water. The Warbler rolled his eyes and jumped in after him. They spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between kissing, splashing each other with water and vegetating next to the pool. Eventually they decided that they should go inside, as it was getting a little cold out.

"Kurt, I think I should be the first to tell you that you did get a little browner out there," said Blaine with a smirk as he placed a towel around his shoulders.

"Really?" Kurt asked in amazement.

"Yeah. It suits you. You still have some catching up to do though," said Blaine grinning.

"Shut up," Kurt replied with a grin and they went inside, holding hands. "We're doing characterisation tomorrow, so you have to be there for that."

"I can't wait," said Blaine, giving Kurt a peck on the lips. "I'm just going to grab some real clothes. Who knew that it gets colder when the sun goes down?"

Kurt laughed and as Blaine made his way to the bathroom to change, he made his way to his bedroom. Biting his lip anxiously, he wondered if he should have mentioned Karofsky playing Collins. Now that he was out, Karofsky wasn't a threat anymore, but he knew that Blaine still didn't like him. He hoped that he was doing the right thing now by not telling his boyfriend that his former bully was playing his love interest. Blaine would understand. Right?

xxx

Sam and Mercedes were the first to arrive the next day. Since his parents needed their car and he had never really had one to begin with, Mercedes had picked him up. The ride had been pleasant, with Sam doing several of his best Harry Potter impressions as entertainment. The thing he appreciated the most about Mercedes is that she actually laughed at his impressions – in the 'I get it' way and not the 'omgwtf was that?' way, like all the other girls he had dated at McKinley. To have a girl not look at him like he was a freak when he was just trying to be his goofy self was a new and refreshing experience for him.

On the other hand, he knew that Mercedes deserved way better than he could offer her at the moment. He sometimes bitterly found himself wishing that things weren't the way they were. Then again, if things weren't as they were, Sam would have probably ended up going to prom with Rachel and he would have never spent that amazing evening with Mercedes. Some things did work out for the good.

He just didn't know how he was going to properly date her without any money. He didn't want her to have to pay for anything, but all of his money went directly to his parents to help pay for the room and for food. As much as he really wanted to, he just couldn't afford to ask her out.

"What's on your mind?" Mercedes asked as they got out of her car. It wasn't accusing, she seemed to genuinely want to know if anything was wrong.

"Oh, nothing, just thinking about how awesome this play is going to be. And how awesome you're going to be as Joanne," he said, smiling hi s huge smile, hoping it sounded like the truth.

"Thank you," said Mercedes graciously and they stood against a wall in silence for a few moments. "Sam, what's happening between us?" she asked softly, just loud enough so that he heard it.

"I don't know," said Sam, trying to work out how to answer the question. Before he had a chance to, Mercedes was speaking again.

"Look, I know that this might seem a little forward, but I like you, Sam, and spending all this time with you has been amazing. It's just got me thinking that you might perhaps like me back."

"I do like you, Mercedes," said Sam truthfully, "but I'm just not ready for that kind of a relationship at the moment. I really enjoy spending time with you and I don't think I've ever met a girl who's laughed at my Yoda impression, but I think for now, we'd be better off as friends."

"Yeah," said Mercedes shrugging. "You're right." Sam couldn't help but notice her features drop a little, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He wanted Mercedes to have the proper thing and at the moment that wasn't him.

His thoughts were interrupted when Puck and Lauren arrived. Puck and Sam began talking their plans for their final year of football and Mercedes and Lauren began speaking about the musical. Lauren was stage director due to her AV club experience and she was bouncing ideas off of Mercedes. Slowly but surely the rest of the Glee club began arriving: Artie, Santana and Brittany, Tina and Mike, Finn and Rachel, Kurt with Blaine and Quinn. With the arrival of Mr Schuester and Miss Pillsbury, the only person who was missing from the group was Karofsky.

"Wow, punctuality," said Mr Schue with a grin. "I like this. Keep this attitude for the rest of the project and it's bound to be a success. Shall we?" He motioned to the door to the auditorium. One by one they all entered and made their way onto the stage. Once everyone had settled into a circle, he began to explain what they would be doing.

"We are going to be analysing the characters; finding out what makes them tick," Will began. "We'll be making up their back-stories based on the clues we can find in the script. I assume that you already have your ideas about your character, based on what you told me during your auditions, so first we're going to go around the circle and the main characters are going to give their opinions on their roles. Everyone else, feel free to share your own ideas on the characters. Anything that can add to the believability of the characters is helpful."

One by one the lead actors began describing their characters to the glee club. Every now and then someone would offer an opinion on a character and the group would murmur in agreement. Artie was halfway through his analysis of Bennie when the auditorium door opened and Karofsky made his way to the stage.

"Welcome, Dave," said Will pleasantly, thinking it better not to berate him for being late this time, just in case he got cold feet. "We've just been discussing the characters in more detail – you know trying to figure out what makes them tick."

Dave sat down between Artie and Kurt, wishing the floor would swallow him. He had meant to be there really early, but his alarm clock had chosen that morning to break and as a result he had overslept by an hour. He found it lucky that he had woken up when he did as he could normally easily sleep into the afternoon.

He had never felt so self-conscious. Every member of the New Directions was staring at him, and Kurt's boyfriend was giving him a look which was mix of surprise, puzzlement and disgust. Dave knew that Blaine had never been able to properly forgive him for what he did to Kurt, despite the fact that Kurt had. He didn't blame the guy. He had threatened to kill his boyfriend. He would also be pretty pissed off and reluctant to believe that he had changed.

He didn't particularly like Blaine either though. Not because of the fact that Blaine didn't like him, but truth be told he was jealous of him. He was completely comfortable with who he was and everyone he knew, knew that he was out. And he had Kurt...

Dave was brought out of his thoughts by Mr Schuester asking him about Collins. Dave gave his explanation of his character, all the while wishing a trap door would suddenly open on stage and he would fall through it. The rest of the glee club listened politely and even threw in suggestions here and there. They started sounding a lot warmer towards him and he couldn't help but feel that in a small way, the way he was portraying his character was helping. Only Blaine stayed stand-offish though it was only Dave who seemed to notice.

"Thanks for that, Dave," said Mr Schuester once he felt that they had talked about Collins enough. Dave couldn't help but feel a rush of pride at these words. He was doing something right for a change. "I think we can all take a half-hour breather. Feel free to go grab something to eat. We meet again at half past."

Blaine pulled Kurt aside. "You didn't tell me that Karofsky was playing Collins," he said, his heavy brows frowning.

"I didn't think it would matter," said Kurt in a would-be-casual voice.

"Of course it matters, Kurt," said Blaine in a serious whisper. He looked over to where Karofsky was sitting with Santana and Brittany. "Look, I know he's apologised and I know you've forgiven him, but you know that I haven't yet. I don't expect you to tell me every single thing, but stuff like this matters to me."

"I know, and I'm sorry," said Kurt seriously, "but this is a big deal for David. He's going to come out to his dad after the musical. You know how scary that is. I don't expect you to become his BFF, but could you at least try not to look like you hate him all the time? It's tough for him."

Blaine held his frown for another moment and then softened. "I admire you, you know that? You're a much better person than I am. I've tried to forgive the guys who pushed me around, but I just can't. You've not only forgiven Karofsky, but you also genuinely care about his pain."

Kurt wasn't sure how to answer this, so he stared down at his designer boots. Blaine hugged him tightly.

"I'm watching out for you," he said into his boyfriend's ear, "just make sure you do the same."

"I'll be fine, Blaine," said Kurt, with a small smile. "But thank you."

Blaine pulled away with a smile. "Lima Bean?" he asked, offering Kurt his arm.

"Sounds perfect," said Kurt with a smile, linking his arm through Blaine's.

Dave felt an involuntary pang as he watched them head out of the auditorium. He shouldn't be feeling this way, and yet he was. He had no right whatsoever to Kurt Hummel and yet he found himself wishing that over the course of the next few weeks that he could prove that he really had changed.

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><p><strong>AN: I'm so torn. I'm a huge Kurtofsky shipper, but I really like Blaine. I don't want him to get hurt. :/ **

**Lol, anyway... feel free to review and tell me what you think of the story so far. Thanks so much for reading. x You make my day!**


	4. Assignment

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and favourites so far. You're the awesomest :)**

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><p>"VIVA LA VIE BOHEME!" the cast shouted with their hands in the air as the last note of the guitar faded behind them. Breathless, with huge pasted on smiles, they waited to hear how they had done that time. They had been rehearsing the scene for the better part of an hour and Will didn't think they were getting anywhere. All of their voices sounded brilliant together and they were all amazing actors, but something about their performances seemed stiff and unnatural. They weren't completely in character. Will, not sure of what else to tell them about the performance, told them all to take five. He looked over to Emma who was looking at him with her eyebrows raised.<p>

"What am I doing wrong, Emma?" Will sighed, sitting down next to her. "Something's not right with the performance, but I just can't put my finger on it."

"I think they're still a little unsure about their primary partners," she said with a small smile. "They have amazing chemistry, but they're not comfortable with each other. They can't interact properly if they're not comfortable."

"That's it," said Will with an excited grin, giving Emma a quick kiss on the cheek."How do you always see what I can't?" _'Cos that wasn't cheesy_ _at all_, he thought to himself, annoyed with his stupid statement.

"Guidance counsellor," she said shrugging, her cheeks flushed. Will gave her a smile and went to gather the cast together again.

"Okay, guys, this is important," he said when they were all sitting along the front of the stage. "You all seem to get along pretty well and that's great, but to make this a great work of theatre you have to _become_ your characters. In order to do that, you have to be comfortable with each other. Your characters are best friends and lovers and because of that you need to be completely physically comfortable with each other. So what I want you to do is spend time getting to know each other better. Many of you are good friends, so it shouldn't be too hard, but make sure that you're comfortable enough with each other to be convincing on stage."

The cast looked anxiously at one another. Some pairings seemed perfectly okay with their assignment. Rachel's primary partners were Finn and Mercedes, which suited her perfectly and Santana and Puck were once together, so they were physically comfortable enough with each other. Santana, however, also had to become used to Artie, which was going to be super awkward as she had spent most of the year so far, hating the guy for stealing the girl of her dreams. He wasn't too fond of her either. Finn and Mercedes almost never talked to each other, so that would also have to change, especially because their main scene together involved a complicated tango.

The most awkward pairing (and despite their own awkward pairings, everyone could concede that this was the case) was Kurt and Dave. Though everyone was a lot more chilled with Dave now that they had gotten to know him better as just himself, no one could deny that it would be super strange for Dave and Kurt to spend time together after all that had happened.

Will looked at the anxious faces of the cast with a feeling of nervousness at the pit of his stomach. If something went wrong at this stage, the rest of the musical was in jeopardy. He hoped that they would be able to sort out their differences and pull together to make it epic. Figuring there was no use in continuing the rehearsal if they hadn't made any progress in their physical performances, he dismissed them and hoped to God that this would work.

"Mind if I walk you to your car?" Kurt asked Dave after they had been dismissed. Dave, who had not been expecting anything like that, choked slightly, but he regained his composure quickly and disguised the embarrassing noise as a cough.

"Sure," he replied and they made their way out of the auditorium and into the parking lot.

"Okay, so we're playing lovers," said Kurt. Dave nodded, wishing that he wasn't having this conversation at all. "Well, I know that things haven't exactly been a hundred percent between us, but I really want to rock this role." Dave smiled at the smaller boy's lame pun. "What Mr Schue said was right. In order for this to be great, we have to _be_ the characters. So, simply put, we need to spend more time together."

Dave didn't quite know what to say to that, so he nodded, fumbling with his car keys. Kurt smiled, gave him a quick hug that Dave awkwardly reciprocated and head off to where Finn and Rachel were waiting for him. It was only after he had driven around the corner that Dave let himself grin like an idiot. He would be spending more time with Kurt and Kurt had just hugged him. He knew it was just a small goodbye one, but to Dave it was the breaking down of a wall. Kurt had definitely forgiven him and Dave had never felt so relieved.

xxx

"So now you have to hang out with him alone?" said Blaine, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes but it's nothing to worry about. It's just to get over the awkwardness."

It was hard for him not to be worried about this. He knew that Karofsky had probably changed for the better and that it would be completely innocent, but the thought of Kurt and him practicing stage-kissing, knowing what Karofsky had done to him, gave Blaine a feeling of molten dread at the pit of his stomach.

One of the things he hated the most about himself was the fact that he couldn't let stuff go. He could still remember every horrible word thrown his way and the pain of every single bruise he had been given just for being himself. It still hurt when he thought about it. He found that outside of Dalton, he never really let himself trust anyone. Now that he had Kurt, he was only starting to learn about proper forgiveness and he was finding more and more that he wasn't good at it -especially when it came to Karofsky.

Kurt could see that Blaine was worried. He didn't know how he could make him see that Dave wasn't the person he used to be. He considered using the example of 'Beauty and the Beast', but Blaine was serious and Kurt didn't think he would particularly appreciate a cartoon-movie anecdote, Disney or not.

He had thought it was sweet at first when Blaine had told him how much he hated Dave for what he had done to him. He finally had a guy (that wasn't his dad) that would stand by him when things were tough. So when he finally forgave Dave, he expected Blaine to do the same, but he still hadn't been able to bring himself to forgive him.

Kurt didn't really know what to do anymore. He knew that Blaine wasn't comfortable with him spending time with Dave, but at the same time he knew that he had to spend that time with Dave in order to make the musical a success.

"It's going to be fine Blaine. I can handle it," Kurt said, lifting the shorter brunette's chin so that he was looking him in the eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Blaine. Kurt placed a soft kiss on his lips before he got up. He had to be at the ice rink in twenty minutes.

"I'll be back," said Kurt, in a terrible Terminator impersonation.

"Yeah, yeah," said Blaine, rolling his eyes and laughing despite feeling like his stomach no longer existed. He knew that he probably had nothing to worry about, but as Kurt left to hang out with Karofsky, he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had about this.

xxx

Dave was nervous. He knew it wasn't a date, but it was hanging with a guy he really liked. As he watched couples whizzing around the rink holding hands – holding each other – he couldn't help but hope that he would be able to do the same thing one day. Now that he had come to terms with himself and who he was, he realised that what he wanted more than anything was someone who was more than a friend.

And the only guy tat ever came to mind when thinking these thoughts was Kurt.

Dave was trying not to stare at the door in anticipation. He figured this would make him look weird. Instead, he sat nonchalantly on the benches around the rink glancing inconspicuously at the door every now and then. His heart almost stopped when he saw Kurt walk through the door on one of his glances. Spotting him, Kurt waved with a grin and made his way over to where Dave sat.

"You ready for this?" asked Dave. He was on McKinley's ice-hockey team, so he was at home on the ice, but something on Kurt's face told him that he wasn't as comfortable about it.

"Not really," said Kurt honestly.

"Don't worry, I'll help you out," said Dave with a nervous smile. They went to get skates after which Kurt nervously stood up in them.

"I feel like I'm about to snap both of my ankles," said Kurt, wide-eyed. Dave laughed.

"Says he who wore crazy high-heels last year," he said and Kurt shrugged as if to say he had a point there. "Anyway, it's better when you're on the ice."

"Better? With all friction gone?" said Kurt with a sceptical look.

"Well, when you get used to the ice it is," said Dave with a slightly guilty smile. Kurt swallowed nervously following Dave over the slightly raised portion of ground and onto the ice. Making sure he had a tight grip on the smaller boy's arm, Dave watched as Kurt stood on the ice next to him.

"Well, that's step one," said Dave with a smirk. He couldn't help but find the situation funny. He had been on the ice pretty much since he could walk – to see a first-timer taking it on was hilarious.

"And now?" said Kurt, his eyes wider than usual. He placed one hand on the rink's wall and Dave knew that he could now balance on his own, but he didn't really want to let go of him.

"Well, now we move," he said with a smile. "You ever roller-bladed?"

"Yeah, like when I was ten," said Kurt, with a slight trace of panic in his voice.

"Well, it's something you don't forget – like riding a bike. Ice-skating is a lot like roller-blading. You just have to move one foot after the other and try not to fall."

"It's kind of the falling I'm worrying about."

"Well, hopefully you won't," said Dave, "but if you do, just make sure you ball up your hands immediately."

"Why?" asked Kurt with an alarmed expression.

"Skates are sharp," said Dave shrugging. Kurt swallowed nervously again. "Seriously, don't sweat it. I'll keep hold of you for the first few laps until you get used to the feel of them."

Kurt nodded and Dave took that as his cue to begin moving. Kurt was shaky at first, but after one revolution he seemed to have got the gist of it. Dave held onto him for another two revolutions, partly to make sure he was steady and mostly because he was enjoying supporting him. After the third lap, Kurt asked if he could try on his own.

"Sure," Dave said. Making sure that Kurt had a firm grip on the wall, he let go of his arm. Kurt nervously made his way around a quarter of the rink holding onto the wall before gathering the courage to let go and skate unsupported. Dave secretly couldn't help be reminded of a baby deer taking its first few steps – awkward and ungraceful. Kurt managed a few feet before falling spectacularly. Dave couldn't but help notice the obedient fists he had formed as he fell.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he offered Kurt a hand, which he took. As he gingerly made it back on his feet, he smiled embarrassedly.

"I'm fine. I think I might have bruised my arm and I _definitely_ bruised my ego."

"Well I don't know about the arm, but we can help the ego by trying again and being awesome at it?" said Dave.

"Okay..." said Kurt, "but I don't think I'm quite ready for a solo flight yet."

Dave offered him his hand again and Kurt took it. "This way if you go down, we both go down."

"Comforting," said Kurt with a small grin which Dave returned. They began to move slowly forwards and after a while they were going at a pretty decent speed – not fast, but quick enough to make Kurt feel like they were achieving something.

"Can you imagine being a figure skater?" said Kurt with a huge grin. "Having to worry about not falling and having to concentrate on jumping on ice?"

"I wanted to be a figure skater," said Dave.

"Really?" said Kurt, with a surprised expression on his face.

"Yeah, I used to watch the championships with my mom and I always wished it could be me up there one day. My dad said it was a fruity dream and made me do hockey instead."

Kurt gave him a quick sympathetic look, feeling that he hardly knew anything about his former bully. Things seemed to be piecing together though.

Suddenly Kurt was brought out of his thoughts when he learned that a momentary lapse in concentration was rewarded with a face-full of ice. This time, however, Dave landed next to him. They looked at each other from their position on the ice and burst out laughing. Despite his throbbing cheekbone, Kurt found that this was the most fun he had had in a long time.

They got up quickly after that and Dave led Kurt to the middle of the rink, so that they didn't get hit by people trying to go as fast as they could. However, now that he had led him there, he had no idea what to do or what to talk about. Desperately grasping for ideas, he finally settled for the reason that they were there together in the first place.

"So, uh, Kurt, we play lovers?" said Dave with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm pretty sure. I've seen the movie about a hundred times," said Kurt with a slight smirk.

"Well, I was just wondering, when Mr Schuester says we have to be physically comfortable with each other – are we going to have to kiss?"

Kurt thought about it for a moment and then said, "Knowing Mr Schue, he'll keep the kiss, but he'll make sure we know how to stage-kiss so that it's not so awkward." Dave fought hard not to show how these words hurt. He knew that it probably would be awkward for Kurt to kiss him, but it was all Dave wanted to do. Then... now...

Shaking his head slightly he said, "Oh, well that's cool. Less awkward. And I think we made a good start on the physical comfort thing today."

Kurt nodded in agreement. "Totally. Good idea, taking a novice ice-skating. You kind of have to physically support them at some stage, so you have to get over your personal space issues."

"Yeah," said Dave, not knowing what else to say. They stood in silence for a moment or two before Kurt spoke up.

"So you can teach me to skate and I'll teach you to dance," he said.

"I can dance," said Dave.

"Ballroom and Latin?" said Kurt, arching an eyebrow.

"Point taken," said Dave, who had never been allowed anywhere near those words. "Sounds fair enough."

"Maybe we can combine the two eventually?" said Kurt. "Do our own version of figure skating and insult everyone who ever trained from childhood?"

Dave laughed. "Yeah that sounds great."

Just then the siren signalling the end of the session rang out. It was time for the figure skaters or hockey players to practice. Dave took Kurt's hand again and led him off the rink. Kurt didn't like to admit it, but he felt a slight tingle when Dave let go of his hand and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the rink. Now both aware of their awkward feelings, they went to hand in their skates in silence. Afterwards, Kurt stood in front of Dave.

"So, next week Saturday, the dance room at school. I'll ask Mr Schue if he can open up for us."

"Sounds great," said Dave, honestly willing to go along with anything if it meant that he could spend more time with Kurt. They stood there in uncomfortable silence for a moment or two after which they gave each other a much more friendly hug than they had the last time they had hugged. Kurt pulled away fairly quickly to clutch his left cheek. Now that Dave looked at it, there was a nasty bruise beginning to form.

"Oh God, Kurt, I'm sorry," said Dave.

"It's okay. It was my fault." The conversation lapsed again and they stood there awkwardly. "I had fun anyway. Thank you."

When Dave tried but couldn't answer, Kurt just gave him a small smile and left the rink.

"You're welcome," he said after he was out of sight, before heading out of the opposite door.

xxx

Kurt tiptoed into Blaine's room where he was watching _My Fair Lady_ for what Kurt was sure was the millionth time. Quiet though he tried to be, there was no getting past Blaine.

"Hey you," said Blaine, his face lighting up when he saw Kurt. "I'm only halfway through the mov- damn Kurt, is that a bruise?" His whole tone changed and he jumped off the bed in alarm.

"It wasn't Dave," said Kurt, throwing his hands up in defence, though he had no idea why he was so quick about it. "I fell face-first onto the ice. You picked the least graceful man in the whole world to be your boyfriend."

Blaine laughed with a tiny hint of scepticism hidden behind it. He didn't find it hard to imagine Dave hitting Kurt (probably because it had actually happened before), but at the same time, he knew Kurt would be in a far worse emotional state if that was the case. So instead of interrogating Kurt about how the "date" had gone, he sat down on the bed with his boyfriend and pressed play on the movie.

Kurt had his head rested contentedly on Blaine's shoulder and was watching Audrey Hepburn being her usual flawless self, when he felt Blaine's fingers lace through his. For some reason the sensation felt strange to him, despite it being almost second nature to the two of them now. And he found when he closed his eyes it was Dave's face that was the first thing he saw.

Blaine felt Kurt tense up when he took his hand – something that had never happened before. He knew that Kurt wasn't cheating on him because he was too bad of a liar to keep something like that a secret, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Kurt was slipping through his fingers.

And he hated it.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the lack of other characters in this chapter. I promise more Samcedes and Wemma in the next chapters. :)**

**As always, thank you for reading and feel free to review :) x**


	5. Kisses

The Mr Schuester, Miss Pillsbury and the glee club sat in the hospital lobby with Burt and Carole. They had been rehearsing for a scene in the musical and Finn had fallen off the stage. When they hadn't been able to wake him up they immediately called 911, while Kurt phoned his parents. Now they sat anxiously waiting to hear if Kurt was alright. Mercedes was in the worst state, as they had been practising the tango scene and she thought that she might have pushed him off the stage by accident. Sam, Quinn and Rachel sat around her, reassuring her that it was just Finn being his usual disastrous dancing self, but Mercedes seemed inconsolable. Carole looked anxious, but as she kept telling Kurt and Burt, who were both holding her hands tightly, Finn had done worse to himself and she was sure he would be fine.

Will looked worried as well. Was this his fault? He had been working Finn pretty hard, because even though Mercedes was managing to do the tango properly, Finn was still having serious problems with it. Maybe if he hadn't pushed him so hard. He felt Emma's fingers suddenly lace through his. He looked down at her with a small smile. She always seemed to be able to calm him down when he got himself too worked up.

"Mrs Hudson?" asked a doctor who had come through the swing doors to the waiting room.

"Is he alright?" asked Carole, standing up suddenly, letting go of the Hummels.

"He's awake and he's doing alright. He's broken his leg in two places and he has a mild concussion so he's in a bit of pain, but he'll be fine. We're going to be keeping him overnight for observation, but we're pretty sure he can be released tomorrow."

Mercedes dissolved into tears again and since Rachel had gone with Burt, Carole and Kurt to check on Finn, Sam put his arms around her.

"It really wasn't your fault. And the doctor said he's going to be fine," he said, stroking her hair softly.

"Yeah, I know," said Mercedes, calming down a little, "but now there's no way he can play Mark. He can barely dance without crutches."

Sam laughed and held her tighter. "Well, it looks like I'm going to be playing Mark after all."

"Are you sure? I thought you really didn't want to play him."

"I didn't," said Sam shrugging, "but I don't know – I guess I kinda miss spending time with you."

Mercedes looked up at him with a confused look.

"Okay, when I said I'm not ready for a relationship, what I meant to say was that I don't want to ask you out and then not be able to give you the kind of relationship you deserve. I mean, I can't take you on proper dates and all that. I just want you to have the real thing and I can't do that for you. But I wish I could."

Mercedes frowned a little. "I don't need any of that Sam. I knew about your money problems before I even really started to like you. I know that if we went out it wouldn't be a typical relationship -but maybe I don't want that. I'm not exactly your typical girl."

Sam laughed and gave her a tight hug. "So, if I asked you to dinner and a movie, it would be okay?"

"I'd love that," said Mercedes grinning.

"Mind you – it would just be simple Mac and Cheese and the movie would be whatever over-watched Disney movie my little brother and sister decide they want to watch."

"Even better," she said, with a small chuckle. Sam felt like he could sing, hardly daring to believe what had just happened, but glad that it had happened at all.

xxx

"How is he?" was the first question off of everyone's lips the next day at RENT rehearsal.

"He's doing well," said Kurt with a smile. "He's convinced himself that it's Karma for breaking Rachel's nose that one time. He's also relieved that he doesn't have to do the tango."

Everyone laughed and when they were finished, Mr Schuester made them run through "La Vie Boheme" again. This time, however, he had no criticism.

"That was incredible, you guys!" said Will, applauding enthusiastically. "I see you've taken my assignment seriously and as a result you're absolutely amazing! I honestly can't think of anything bad to say about that performance. Well, other than that, Sam, you can see that you're not used to performing it, but even so, you were really good."

Filled with pride, the cast took a five minute break after which they split up into three groups according to what they would be working on: vocals, choreography or acting. Sam and Mercedes went to Mike and Brittany to work on their tango, Artie and the understudies went to Brad and Miss Pillsbury to work on Benny's main number and the rest sat in a circle on stage with Mr Schuester as he spoke to them about their acting.

"Okay, you are the main romantic pairings in the play. As a result, you all have at least one scene in which you kiss."

The group looked at each other with slightly self-conscious expressions. It was something that many of them weren't particularly looking forward to.

"Since I know that some of you might be uncomfortable with actually kissing, I think it's best that we run through some stage-kissing techniques. Feel free to let me know if kissing is too far out of your comfort zone. I know that not all of you might be comfortable with it and the last thing I want to do is to force you to do something that you really don't want to. The kisses aren't technically necessary if the acting in your couple scenes is convincing."

"Mr Schue?" said Rachel, raising her hand.

"Yes, Rachel?" asked Will.

"Mercedes and I have discussed it already and I'm okay with it, but she's not completely comfortable with the idea of kissing on stage. She says if she has to, she will, but she'd prefer not to."

"Very well," said Will, "it's not the end of the world if she doesn't want to. That being the case, do you want to go join her and Sam in choreography?" Rachel nodded and made her way to the choir room where Mike and Brittany were demonstrating the tango that Sam now needed to learn.

"The rest of you are okay with it?" asked Will. They all nodded. "Okay, the most important thing is to make it look real, even if you know that it isn't. You have to make sure that your facial expressions look natural and your body language is convincing." Dave, Puck, Santana and Kurt nodded to show that they understood. Realising he needed Emma to help him demonstrate as it would be really inappropriate if he decided to demonstrate with one of his students, he asked to be excused for a second and crossed over to the other side of the stage where Blaine and Artie were singing "You'll See". He grabbed Emma by the hand and led her back to his side of the stage, whispering what he needed her for on the way over.

"Miss Pillsbury has kindly agreed to help me demonstrate the technique you'll be using," said Will. Emma nodded nervously, with a small smile. "So the first thing you need to do, Dave and Puck, is move your partner slightly upstage - not too much, but enough to block them slightly from the audience." Will moved Emma slightly to show what he meant, trying hard to ignore his own beating heart at this point.

"Once you've done this, you place your hand on their cheek so that the mouths are hidden from view, place your chins together and move your heads convincingly."

He did this and the four teenagers gasped at how real it looked. Once he was pretty sure the illusion had been made, he moved his hand away from Emma's cheek to reveal that their lips weren't touching at all. He pulled away from Emma and laughed a little at the stunned expressions on their faces.

"Pretty convincing?" he asked. They laughed and nodded. "Okay, now I want you to try."

Blaine, who had been curious as to why Miss Pillsbury had suddenly been pulled away from their vocal practice, felt his stomach plummet as he realised that Kurt and Karofsky were going to practising stage kissing. He knew that it wasn't real, but it didn't stop it being any less painful to watch - especially because Kurt had been acting so weird around him lately.

Blaine knew that if anything was going on between Kurt and Karofsky he would see it immediately, and so far he couldn't see that anything like that. He believed that Kurt would never cheat on him, but Kurt was becoming more and more distant the further they went into rehearsals and now this stage kiss was only bound to aggravate things.

"Hey," said Tina, seeing the look on his face and taking his hand. "I know how you feel. I once thought that Mike was cheating on me with Brit, but it ended up being nothing. You don't want to get yourself all worked up about something that isn't even real. Kurt loves you. None of us have ever seen him as happy as he's been lately because of you."

"I know," said Blaine with a sigh, looking back over to Kurt who suddenly turned around and saw him staring. He rolled his eyes in a playful way as if to say "can you believe what they're making me do now?" Blaine gave a small chuckle and replied with a similar eye-roll. Then he turned back to Tina. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said. The music for "You'll See" started again and Blaine began to sing Sam and Puck's parts so that Artie could get some practice. He pushed his stupid suspicions to the back of his mind and concentrated on singing the as amazingly as he could, determined to be perfect.

xxx

Sam and Mercedes hadn't stopped laughing since rehearsal had ended. They couldn't even remember what had started them off, but for the last ten minutes they had both been in stitches.

"We... need... to... stop now," said Mercedes in between gasps for breath. "I need to concentrate when I drive."

"You're right," he said, controlling himself and putting on a serious expression. He managed this for all of three seconds when he burst out laughing again. Mercedes couldn't help but laugh as well.

"What is it now?" she managed to ask after a while.

"You drive a... a Mercedes," he said, tears running down his cheeks from the amount he was laughing. This caused them both to laugh all the harder. It was another five minutes before either of them could say anything.

"This is the most I've laughed in a long time," said Mercedes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, you promised I could take you to dinner and a movie?"

"I believe you did," said Mercedes, letting Sam open her car door for her.

Kurt watched the two of them with a satisfied smile on his face. It had been a long time since he had seen his friend as happy as she was and the sight made him happier than he could say. He only looked away when he felt a hand in his. Blaine smiled at him and Kurt felt his heart to a back-flip as it always did when he was near him. There was a slightly sad look behind his eyes and Kurt suddenly realised how horribly he'd been treating him lately.

"Blaine?" he said.

"Yeah?" Blaine replied.

"I'm sorry for being so distant lately. I've been treating you like just an 'anybody' and you're so much more than that."

"It's ok," said Blaine, "I know things have been stressful with the musical."

"I love you," said Kurt.

"I love you too," replied Blaine, kissing his boyfriend softly on the cheek. Blaine felt at ease for the first time that week. He was stupid to worry. Kurt would never do that to him.

Across the car park, Dave watched the two of them sadly. his heart felt like it weighed a ton. _That could have been you, but you blew it,_ he thought to himself, before climbing into his car and driving angrily home.

xxx

Mercedes hadn't been on many dates, but she was sure that this was the best one that she had been on. Sam's parents had gone out to dinner with some of their friends from the church, leaving him to make dinner and babysit his little siblings. Mercedes had met his little brother and sister before, but hadn't really had a chance to spend real time with them. Now that she was, she absolutely loved them. Sam's precocious little brother proudly showed her every single toy he owned and explained their significance, while his little sister asked Mercedes if she would do her hair up 'all pretty'.

Sam brought them all Macaroni on trays when he had finished making it and they sat down to watch _Pocahontas_ for what Mercedes was informed was the millionth time.

"It's okay," she said grinning, "I love this movie."

Sam's brother and sister were asleep before the end of the movie and he carefully picked them up and tucked them into bed. Mercedes smiled at how cute he was with them. She had always been a sucker for a guy who was good with kids.

Once he was sure they were asleep, he made a bowl of popcorn while Mercedes put in a movie.

"_Avatar_?" he asked excitedly as he sat down next to her at the foot of his bed.

"Yeah," she said grinning. "I know you like this movie."

"You're awesome," he said with a huge smile on his face. Mercedes didn't quite know what to say in reply, so she just smiled to herself and pressed play.

To be honest, she hadn't seen the movie because she wasn't sure it was really the kind of movie she would like, but she found herself really enjoying it. It was really romantic, but not in the sappy way the movies Kurt made her watch were. The animation and the music made it really breathtaking.

"Sam, I'm really loving the movie, but isn't it creepily similar to _Pocahontas_?" whispered Mercedes, trying not to disturb Sam's little siblings.

"Yes! You're the first person I know who agrees with me," He said in an excited whisper. "Most people are like 'huh? Pocahontas?'"

Mercedes laughed and they carried on watching the movie. She found that after a while it was easy for her to rest her head on his shoulder and she smiled when he rested his head on top of hers. Her smile grew even more when she felt his fingers lace through hers. _This is so perfect,_ she thought blissfully to herself.

Sam's parents came in just as the movie ended and were surprised to see the two small blonds fast asleep.

"How on Earth did you manage that?" asked Sam's mom. "Normally they're still bouncing around the room at this time of night."

"Mercedes helped tire them out while I made dinner. She's a brilliant babysitter," said Sam grinning.

"Well thank you, dear," said Sam's mom. "Can I offer you some coffee? I'm pretty sure Sam hasn't offered you any since we left."

Mercedes chuckled. "Unfortunately I have to go now, but thanks so much for everything."

"You're welcome," said Sam's dad. "Thank you for agreeing to help look after the munchkins."

"It was a pleasure," said Mercedes with a smile.

"I'll walk you to your car," said Sam, as Mercedes put on her coat. With one last goodbye to Sam's parents, Mercedes opened the door and head into the surprisingly warm night air. As soon as the door was closed, Sam took her hand again.

"Tonight was fun," she said with a smile.

"Yeah," said Sam, grinning. "Kinda makes me feel stupid for not asking you out earlier."

Mercedes smiled shyly and looked down at her sneakers as they approached her car. "Thanks again," she said.

Instead of saying anything, Sam placed his lips gently against hers. Mercedes' breath caught in her throat and without realising, her lips parted slightly. She felt his tongue move tentatively into her mouth and Mercedes instinctively mirrored the motion. It could only have lasted a few minutes, but it felt like it went on for hours. When they broke apart, Sam smiled.

"You're welcome," he said, opening her car door for her. The stupid smile didn't leave his face even after Mercedes' car disappeared at the end of the street. He turned around and saw a hand hastily let go of the curtain it was holding up.

"Mom..." he said rolling his eyes, his grin still firmly in place. If he had known it would lead to such an awesome night, he would have broken Finn's leg sooner.

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><p>AN: More Samcedes as promised ^_^ I love these two together. Thank you so much for all the reviews and favorites. You make my heart happy :) x


	6. Realisations

**A/N: I really need to get better at this regular posting thing. But I really appreciate the reviews I've been getting in my gaps :) You guys rock.**

**Without further ado, chapter 6:**

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><p>Finn was back at rehearsals next week, but this time only to sing a challenging but small part in one of the 'Life Support' scenes. It was perfect because he could still be in the musical, but his part required no dancing whatsoever. In fact, it was better (and safer) that he didn't have to stand at all. Rachel stayed mad at him for a while, but eventually forgave him saying that "he was more Bon Jovi than Broadway". Finn took it as a complement and everything reached equilibrium again.<p>

All things considered, the musical was going ahead swimmingly. Thanks to Tina and Miss Pillsbury, the costumes were looking incredible. Lauren was doing an amazing job as stage manager and as a result, the decor and props were all finished already even though it was two weeks before they were really needed. Besides designing the lighting and sorting out the sound which could only really be done once the performances were finalised, there was only one project the AV club still had to take care of.

In the song "One Song Glory" Rodger remembers the last time his last love and what became of her. The original plan had been to have Quinn and one of the Warblers similar in stature to Puck, act out the memory silhouetted behind a curtain while Puck sang the song downstage. However, Artie had mentioned that since the AV club had use of the school data projectors, they could film a montage similar to the movie and actually use Puck and Quinn. The idea seemed to go down well and after a fair bit of planning, they finally began filming.

Quinn and Puck were really good actors. They both seemed to grasp he emotional importance of the scene and Artie, who was directing, had never been so impressed with either of them. Since glee club didn't get much of a chance to act, they had never really been able to showcase these particular talents. Artie knew that Puck could act because he was in several scenes with him, but he couldn't help but wonder why Quinn hadn't auditioned for any of the main roles. In his opinion she would have killed any of them.

After asking everyone to take five, Artie went up to Quinn, who was in her amazing nineties grunge costume. He knew that he had hardly ever spoken to her, but part of him wanted to change that. Since her and Finn's last break-up the only people she really spoke to were Santana and Brittany and since they were distracted by each other most of the time, Artie figured that they couldn't be much company.

"Hey," he said, offering her a bottle of water, which she accepted with a friendly 'thank you'. They sat in silence for a few more moments before Artie spoke up again. "So, are you enjoying filming?"

"I am," she said with a small smile. "I feel like I'm screwing up most of the time, but it's still fun."

"Are you kidding?" said Artie, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "You're really good. I mean, I know that you don't say anything, but even so, it's really awesome to watch."

"Thanks," she said, tucking a strand of straggly, teased hair behind her ear.

"Why didn't you audition for a part in the musical?" asked Artie, feeling that the way he had asked sounded more accusatory than curious. Quinn luckily laughed.

"I didn't want the pressure. I mean, you have to know all the lines and you've pretty much got the whole play resting on your shoulders. I don't have the energy to deal with that at the moment. This," she said motioning to their makeshift set, "is perfect for me."

Artie smiled, suddenly filled with a huge urge to ask her out, which he tried desperately to suppress. It was no use. He had never been particularly good at subtlety and before he could stop himself, he was asking, "Do you want to come to Breadstix with me tomorrow night?" He felt his face fill with colour and prayed to every deity he knew of, that he could just disappear right there. He waited in terrified anticipation for what she would reply with.

"Sure," she said, with a smile, "I'd love to." It took him a while to process what he had just heard, but when he did realise that she had agreed, he smiled what he was sure was the stupidest smile in the history of the universe.

"Okay," he said, forgetting how to properly use the English language. "Awesome... okay. So tomorrow at eight?"

"Sounds great," she said.

"Cool," said Artie and figuring that five minutes were over, he called everyone back to their places. Puck, who had seen what had just happened, gave him a wink and a thumbs-up. Artie returned it with a sheepish grin, still trying to process what he had just done.

The rest of the shooting went smoothly. They debated for a while on whether or not to show the suicide. Some thought that it was important to show what became of April because it set the foundation for Rodger's irrational fear of being with Mimi, but others thought it might be a bit much to see a girl in a bathtub with slit wrists. Eventually they settled for showing a shot of a single slit wrist hanging over the side of a bathtub with a suicide note hanging loosely between her fingers. Once he was confident he had enough footage, Artie called it a wrap and concentrated on looking forward to his date with Quinn.

It didn't take long for the whispers to start amongst the glee club members. It was all pretty much anyone could talk about. Well, everyone except Mercedes, whose phone had been broken for the past couple of days. The only thing she really missed about having her phone up and running was texting Kurt, Rachel and - most of all - Sam. They had decided to keep their relationship secret for a while because they knew how brutal the glee gossip could be, which is why her heart almost stopped when she heard, "...I heard he asked her out just out of the blue; I know, I never would have put them together, but OMG they're so cute!" when she walked into rehearsal that day. She only felt it beat again when Kurt pulled her closer and said, "Did you hear about Artie and Quinn?"

"No!" she said, trying to sound as casual as possible while feeling as though she had dodged a bullet. "What happened?"

Kurt was just about to tell her when Mr Schuester walked in. They all stopped whispering at once and stared semi-guiltily at him.

"Are you guys really gossiping again?" said Will, feeling as though he hadn't achieved anything with what they were doing. "This has to stop guys. I know that you're all pretty close now and it's nearly impossible to keep stuff to yourself, but for the sake of the people you're talking about, could you try? This group doesn't have anything if it doesn't have trust. Don't jeopardise that so close to the performance."

"Sorry, Mr Schue," said the people on stage, with guilty looks.

"It's ok," he said. "Now, Sam, Mercedes and Rachel, you're in choreography with the Warblers today. Puck and Santana, you're with Brad to work on _I Should Tell You_ and David and Kurt," he said looking at the two boys, "you're going to be working on your _I'll Cover You_ scene."

All the glee clubbers nodded to show that they understood. Sam, Mercedes and Rachel stayed on stage with the Warbler guys and the dancers from Brit's dance class; Brad, Puck and Santana head off to the choir room and Will took Kurt and David to the gymnasium.

Dave was a mess. He was starting to become pretty close to Kurt, but in the most frustrating way possible. They were comfortable together now and he had even opened up to him a little. But everytime that it looked like Kurt might have the same feelings for him, Blaine's name came up. He knew that it was understandable because he was his boyfriend; it didn't stop it hurting though.

Kurt gave Dave a small smile as they went into the gymnasium. Part of him was worried about the taller boy. Now that he knew a bit more about how he was struggling with being out and his parents not knowing about it, he was starting to see how vulnerable he really was. He tried to be tough and act as though nothing got to him, but now Kurt could see how he craved for approval and acceptance and he knew how scared he was that he might not get it from the two people he needed it the most from.

And though he really didn't want to think about it, Kurt felt a small twinge of something that was definitely not platonic growing at the pit of his stomach when he was around Dave. It was getting worse the closer they got and Kurt didn't know what to do. The only thing he could do about it most of the time was to think about Blaine, which usually led to him talking about Blaine. He could tell that this annoyed Dave, but he couldn't allow these new feelings for him to settle. He loved Blaine and he wasn't going to throw it away for a weird new crush.

"Okay, guys, I just want to say that I'm extremely proud of the way you've put an effort into becoming used to each other," said Mr Schuester as he sat on the bottom row of the bleachers with a CD player. "I know it must have been slightly more challenging for the two of you, but I honestly think that of all the pairings, you two are the most convincing and that shows amazing courage, talent and dedication."

Despite themselves, both boys glanced at each other, their faces splitting into huge grins. Neither of them had been particularly excited about this practice, but they were a lot more optimistic about it after Mr Schue's encouraging words. On their teacher's instruction, they began their scene. The acoustics in the gym were horrible, but it didn't matter because Dave and Kurt were immediately in character. Suddenly it was so much easier for Kurt to let go, because the feelings weren't meant for Dave, they were meant for Collins. And it wasn't him feeling them, it was Angel. Right?

As the song progressed, they frolicked around the gym as if it was the stage, using the choreography and stage direction Mike and Brittany had shown them. It seemed so easy to dance with each other and somewhere in Kurt's mind he found himself wishing that the song didn't have to end.

The last notes of the song were dying away and they were staring at each other, breathing heavily from the effort of singing and dancing around. Dave waited the amount of time they had talked about and then initiated the stage kiss. It wasn't as awkward as they thought it might be.

Afterwards, Mr Schuester stood up and applauded enthusiastically. "That was AMAZING!"

Dave and Kurt began to grin again, feeling pride rush through them. They were actually good.

"I'll give you a few minutes to catch your breath before I ask you to do it once more, but if you keep being that convincing absolutely nothing can go wrong on the night."

Mr Schuester excused himself to go check on the others for a few minutes. Dave turned to Kurt.

"You were awesome," he said with a smile.

"So were you," he replied, returning the smile and trying his hardest to ignore his sudden back-flipping heart. This whole situation was bad news and yet he wished that it wasn't. They sat in awkward silence for the rest of the time and it was a relief when Mr Schue finally came back from checking on the other glee clubbers.

Their second run through of the number was much like the first. They instantly got into character, so Kurt and Dave could let themselves go. The minute the scene ended though, things began to get awkward again. Mr Schuester seemed to sense that they were only comfortable when they were acting and as such, didn't make them hang around too much. Instead he decided that they should gather everyone together to practise _RENT_.

Since Kurt, Mercedes and Rachel weren't in the number at all, they found themselves seats in the fourth row and decided to watch the others practise.

"So what's new with you guys?" said Kurt, taking their hands. "I feel like we never talk anymore."

"Well, I know one new thing," said Rachel with a mischievous glint in her eyes that she seldom had.

"Oh?" said Kurt, excited at the prospect of new gossip.

"Well, I know that there's something going on between Mercedes and Sam," Rachel said.

"What? That's crazy," said Mercedes, a little too quickly.

"Oh come on, Mercy," said Kurt, rolling his eyes. "I've been your best friend for almost two years now. You really expect me to believe it when you say it like that?"

Mercedes sighed and rolled her eyes. "You two _would_ be the ones to figure it out. How long have you known, Rach?"

"Since the first time I saw you in choreography, but never mind that. How long has it been?"

"About a week and a half," said Mercedes with a bashful grin. Kurt gave her a massive hug and Rachel joined in.

"I'm so happy, Mercedes!" said Kurt. "And with Sam as well. I was hoping, but I thought you were just friends, because that's your excuse with almost every guy you end up spending time with."

"Because most of the time that's just what they are," said Mercedes with a raised eyebrow.

"Point taken," said Kurt, knowing when it was best to step down with Mercedes.

"So have you guys kissed?" asked Rachel, curiously. Mercedes nodded with a wide grin and the three of them squealed, which made Mr Schuester turn around and ask them if they wouldn't mind keeping it down because they were disturbing the rehearsal. Kurt apologised on their behalf and the three of them lapsed into silent giggles.

When they eventually calmed down, Rachel asked Kurt about how things were going with Blaine. It made Kurt sober up instantly. He looked down at the stage where Dave was getting "beat-up" by a gang of Warblers, the horribly familiar pang of something starting at the base of his stomach.

"Kurt," said Rachel seriously taking her gaze from his face to follow where he was looking, "I know that look – like you just got punched in the stomach. Are you starting to develop feelings for Karofsky?"

"N-no," said Kurt, realising he sounded less than convincing.

"You are!" whispered Mercedes seriously. "That's just bad news, Kurt."

"You think I don't know that?" said Kurt with a hint of sadness in his voice. He was still looking at Dave and only looked away when Dave looked back at him.

"Does he know?" asked Rachel.

"God, I hope not," said Kurt. He was quiet for a while, not really sure about his own emotions anymore. "I really don't want these feelings, guys. I love Blaine and the last thing I want to do is screw things up with him."

Rachel and Mercedes patted his arms sympathetically.

"Is that all you're going to do? Really?" he asked. "You guys are supposed to help me sort this out."

"You're asking the wrong girl here," said Mercedes giving Kurt an apologetic look.

"Look," said Rachel, "I've been here before. There is no easy way out. But in the end, you have to do the right thing and the right thing here would be to ignore these new feelings. Blaine loves you and you said you love him. You're good for each other and I think I speak for both Mercedes and I when I say that we don't want to see you screw up something that's made you happier than we've ever seen you before – just over some weird new crush."

Kurt sighed and gave Rachel a piercing stare. "You're right of course, which makes you soooo annoying."

Rachel laughed and gave Kurt a hug. This time Mercedes joined in.

"It's just because I'm getting acting and reality confused. Things will go back to normal after the musical."

"Yeah," said Mercedes with a smile.

"Great," said Kurt, feeling so much more relieved now that he had talked to his two best friends about it. "I have a proposal; to help me forget this little fiasco, may I suggest a shopping trip this weekend, followed by an all-night divathon?"

Both girls agreed with huge smiles and they all sat back to watch the rest of the rehearsal. Kurt knew that he was being stupid about this Dave thing. He was just confusing friendly feelings with feeling feelings again. This would all blow over as soon as Dave and him weren't in each other's faces as much as they were at the moment.

And yet, as Dave caught his eye as he was getting "beat-up" again, Kurt couldn't help but secretly feel that there was a possibility that this might be more than some stupid crush. What if this was real?

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><p><strong>AN: Kind of a slow chapter, but the next chapter will be more exciting, I promise! Until then, feel free to review :)**


	7. Opening Night  Part 1

**A/N: Wow, your reviews have been amazing. Thank you :) Hope you enjoy this chapter as much x**

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><p>"Aaaand curtain!" said Mr Schuester, calling their final rehearsal before opening night, finished. As the curtain dropped, the cast and extras all beamed at each other. They knew that they had done an amazing job and that they were more than ready for tomorrow night's performance. There was a small nervous feeling at the pit of everyone's stomach, but it was easily overshadowed by their excitement that they had finally reached the actual thing.<p>

"You were amazing," said Blaine into Kurt's ear as the chatter began to build up. He had taken to reminding Kurt of this every time they were together because truth be told, he was paranoid that Kurt would suddenly change his mind about him. Ever since his weird behaviour a few weeks back, he was terrified that everything that had made him so happy these past few months would be taken away from him.

"Thank you," said Kurt, beaming and planting a quick kiss on his cheek. Blaine was about to say something else when Mercedes and Rachel grabbed Kurt in a crushing hug and began happy-jumping with him. Blaine chuckled to himself and waited for them to finish.

"Blaine," said Mercedes after they had stopped and Rachel had gone off to find Finn, "do you and Kurt want to come to Breadstix with Sam and me just now?"

"I'd love to. Kurt?"

"Are you kidding?" said his boyfriend with a grin. "I've always wanted to go on a double date. This is perfect."

Mercedes grinned and hugged them both. "I love you guys," she said before rushing off to find Sam.

Quinn, who had long since changed from her _La Vie Boheme_ costume, made her way through the excited group of people to find Artie.

"Quinn!" he said when he saw her. "I was just about to look for you. The film footage came out incredibly. It's so powerful."

"I think that has more to do with you than with me," she said, a slight blush creeping onto her flawless cheeks. Their date the other night had gone really well. She laughed at all of his jokes (even his completely horrible ones) and she didn't really need to do anything to impress him. Just being her was more than enough for him.

"That was definitely mostly you. It was also a little Puck, but only a little. You owned that," said Artie, feeling a blush creep up his neck and into his cheeks. Quinn chuckled and took his hand.

"I wanted to ask you something," she said, her smile turning into a slightly more serious look. Artie swallowed nervously. What was happening now? Was he about to be dumped again? For a third time?

"Y-yeah?" he replied with a slight stammer.

"Well, we've been going out for about two weeks now and I was just wondering what that made us?"

"Uh..." said Artie, really not sure what to say to that.

"I've really enjoyed it," said Quinn softly.

"I don't know," replied Artie. "I'm really not good at this."

"Well," said Quinn, letting go of Artie's hand to sit on his lap, "I was hoping that you'd be my boyfriend, if it's not too soon?"

Artie's heart raced and it seemed that he had completely lost his power of speech. All he could do was nod like the idiot he was and hope that Quinn didn't agree. She grinned and gave him a quick but sweet kiss. Suddenly there was cheering from every direction and the two of them opened their eyes to see the entire glee club and the Warblers cheering for them. Artie should have been mortified, but he was too busy doing a celebration dance in his mind to notice. Quinn giggled and before long the noise died down as everyone went back to their chatting.

"So you're my... my girlfriend now?" asked Artie, still not quite believing it.

"I hope so," she said with a smile. Artie grinned like a crazy person and mumbled something about dinner. "Of course we're going to dinner now. And you're paying."

"When don't I?" asked Artie and Quinn laughed.

There ended up being so many of them at Breadstix, they decided to push the tables together and they all sat as a massive group. It ended up being a better time than any of them could have imagined. They began by speaking about the most obvious thing – opening night. Many spoke about how excited they were about it, but most of them shared stories of how nervous they were. The conversation bloomed from there and soon they were speaking about totally random but completely entertaining things. It was the first time that all of them fully realised how close they had become through this whole project and it amazed them.

After a few incredibly fun hours, they all decided it best to head home. They needed all the rest they could get for the next day.

xxx

"This is it guys," said Will in choir room as he looked across the crowd of scared-looking teenagers. "You've been working hard for this and there's a huge crowd of people out there waiting for you to be your best, which I'm sure that you are. Just go out there and let it all go. You're amazing."

There was a smattering of applause and a few cheers, but most of them just nodded with looks like they were about to head into battle. Will called the main cast to the stage where they would be beginning with _Seasons of Love_.

"Break a leg," said Blaine, planting a quick kiss on Kurt's lips.

"Thanks," said Kurt, following the rest of the cast out onto the stage. Kurt felt his heart pounding somewhere in the region of his throat as he stood on his little 'x' in between Rachel and Dave. If there was anyone who looked more nervous than him, it was Dave. Kurt had performed in front of larger audiences, but this would be a first for the jock. That, and the fact that that his parents were in the crowd, meant that the most pressure easily fell on his shoulders. Kurt wished he could tell him that it was going to be alright, but the curtains were pulling back and their individual spotlights came on. The lights were so bright that when they looked out at the audience, it was just a sea of darkness. It really was like there was no one there.

"_Five hundred, twenty one thousand, six hundred minutes_..." the cast began, their strong voices blending perfectly. All of them felt immediately at home. So far, this was no different to a typical glee competition. All they were doing was singing. There was no real acting required – they were just introducing the concept of the play.

It got to Dave's awesome solo and the audience immediately began to cheer. Kurt's heart swelled with pride despite himself. He knew that this was one of his dreams and the fact that he was being shown appreciation for it made Kurt endlessly happy. He wished he could look over to him to see the look on his face, but the number required him to stare at the audience the entire time.

The last note of their harmony faded away and the curtains closed in front of them. There was time for a quick and excited group hug before everyone had to get ready for the next song. Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes went off stage and everyone else found their positions.

Sam's heart was racing. _Season's of Love_ had been nerve-wracking enough, but now he had to sing completely alone in front of the audience. And dance. And act. He looked over into the wings and caught Mercedes' eye. She smiled and mouthed "break a leg" before heading off to go get her costume for her next scene. Sam laughed, immediately feeling more relaxed and ready to take on the performance. He just had to pretend that the audience wasn't there, which wasn't hard, seeing as the stage lights were so damn bright.

As the curtain opened again, Sam stepped up to the front of the stage. He felt slightly ridiculous with his over-the-top camera, but he proceeded with his line anyway. "From now on I shoot without a script..." the words came out of him almost automatically now. As soon as he had finished his line, the opening riff for _Rent_ began and he began to sing his part. Going around the stage and "filming" different parts of it as he went. After picking up an eviction notice, he crossed the stage to where Puck was putting his guitar down angrily as the "lights" went out.

Puck's solo then began and Puck immediately felt in character. He had felt from the beginning that Rodger was the role he was born to play, and now here he was doing it. He knew that he was awesome at what he was doing, and he wasn't exactly a stranger to a crowd, so it was going pretty smoothly. "_How we gonna pay, last year's rent?_" He and Sam sang together.

After a quick dialogue and a fake mugging, Dave's solo began. More than anything, he loved the acting and he got to do plenty in this scene. As he sang about the perils of the city he felt a rush of happiness that he was finally doing what he loved. He knew that the part that he was really nervous about was still coming up, but he would worry about that later. Right now he would enjoy the moment.

The rest of the number went well. The harmonies were amazing and everyone looked incredible. From what Will could see from backstage everything was going super well. He felt a rush of pride as he saw his students achieving something that they had worked so hard to reach. He watched as Angel and Collins had their brief scene and loved the chemistry they had. When Dave and Kurt acted, they really made it look like they were in love and Will admired that. They could put aside a rather rocky history and just completely become their characters.

As the scene ended and the scene with Benny, Rodger and Mark began, Kurt hurried off the stage to hastily change into his next costume and to have even more make-up smeared onto his face. He was amazed that his pickle-tub drum solo had gone so well. Finn had been helping with it for almost a month, but he had only really had it down for about a week. Predictably, the first thing his step-brother asked him as he entered the choir room again was, "how'd it go?"

"Pretty well," said Kurt, grabbing his costume off the rack and heading to one of the privacy partitions to change.

"How's the crowd?" asked Tina who was applying makeup to the warblers who had yet to go onstage.

"They're friendly," said Kurt from behind the partition. "You can't really see them because the stage lights are so bright, so it's okay."

"That's good to know," Finn said laughing at something that he alone understood. Everyone ignored him. Once Kurt was in his full Angel gear, he grabbed his wig and sat down in front of Quinn for makeup. They had been practising for quite a while so she did it quickly and expertly. Afterwards, she helped fix the wig firmly in place so that it wouldn't fall of during his the hectic dance routine he was about to do.

Blaine, who was now in his costume for his "Life Support" scene, was wearing his hair without any gel. He looked a lot more natural and Kurt's heart skipped a beat at how amazing he looked. He caught Blaine's eye and Blaine raised his eyebrows at how different Kurt looked.

"Nice, uh, wig," said Blaine with a small smirk.

"Oh shut up," said Kurt with a smile. "Are you ready?"

"Psh, of course," his boyfriend replied with a nervous smile. "Now's when things start to get interesting..."

xxx

For the most part, the first act was running pretty smoothly. Sam had stood on Mercedes' foot during their tango scene, but there hadn't been any other mishaps. The "Life Support" scenes had been pretty good and now they were performing _Santa Fe_. Dave and his voice made the performance amazing and the beautiful backing vocals of Kurt, Sam and Puck made it that much better.

Before long, the number was over and it was time for _I'll Cover You_. Kurt gave Dave a small, encouraging out of character smile and then the music began. It was amazing how quickly Kurt became Angel again. All that mattered in this moment was Collins and the way that they felt about each other.

Dave's heart was hammering in his chest. He had never seen Kurt look as amazing as he did in that moment, singing with him – to him. Though he normally found it really easy to separate himself from his portrayal of Collins, tonight he found it impossible to be completely in character, purely because the boy in front of him was so damn distracting.

"_I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love_..." It was at the point in the song where they took hands and the hair on Dave's arms stood on end at the contact. It wasn't the first time he had ever felt Kurt's hand in his, but with all the confusing thoughts going through his head at that moment, he couldn't help but get chills.

"_Oh, lover, I'll cover you_..." sang Angel and Collins as the song came to an end. Kurt knew what was meant to happen next and he prayed to Gaga that Dave would have the nerve to do it in front of his parents. _Just remember it's not real_, Kurt thought, trying to project the thought into Dave's mind.

It seemed to work because the next second, Dave was bending towards him. He wasn't moving him slightly upstage, or placing his hands on his face though. In fact, Dave's hands were clutching Kurt's elbows. The smaller boy found himself frozen. What was going on here?

The next thing he knew was that Dave's lips were firmly against his for the second time in his life. There was a nagging at the back of Kurt's mind that told him that this was a bad thing, but unlike the first time, he wasn't in a hurry to pull away. In fact, this time he relaxed into the kiss, relishing in the opportunity to unload some of the confusing feelings that he had been having over the past few weeks.

When they broke apart, the audience was dead silent for a moment, before a solitary person began applauding and everyone followed suit. Kurt looked up and saw Blaine over Dave's shoulder, his face a mixture of anger, confusion but mostly pain.

Crap. What had he just done?

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><p><strong>AN: Slightly shorter chapter, but hopefully you enjoy the cliffhanger? Thanks so much for reading this far xx**


	8. Opening Night Part 2

**A/N: Oh look! An update! Sorry it took so long :S**

**This is the last chapter, but I'll probably be writing some more futurefics, so look out for those ^_^ **

**Love you all xxx **

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><p>"Blaine! Wait!" Kurt called after his boyfriend who had just stormed out of the choir room.<p>

The performance was over and while most people were jumping up and down congratulating each other on a successful performance, Blaine had quietly changed, removed his stage make-up and picked up his bag before angrily leaving the room. Kurt had seen this from over Mercedes' shoulder as she strangled him in a tight hug and he had quickly struggled from the embrace to chase him. He didn't know how, but he had to make things right.

"Blaine," he said as he finally caught up with the shorter boy.

"I have nothing to say to you Kurt," Blaine said, stopping to glare at him. Kurt could see tears pooling in his eyes and he felt his stomach knot.

"Blaine, I –"

"No! Save it, Kurt," he interrupted, his voice cracking slightly. "You know, one of the reasons I liked and admired you so much was that you were loyal. That's what Mercedes told me about you, that's what Rachel told me about you. Fuck, even Finn told me that you would never hurt the people you care about. So where does that leave me, huh?"

Kurt was about to answer, but Blaine cut him off again.

"I know you're going to tell me that this isn't your fault, and yeah, while you didn't initiate anything, the point is you fucking kissed him back. You kissed the guy who made your life a living hell to the point of having to transfer schools. I mean, he threatened to kill you, Kurt. And now you have feelings for him? I've seen some pretty weird stuff in my time, but I think this kind of takes the cake."

Kurt felt a small pocket of anger bubble up in his stomach at this. The concerned and guilty look that was on his place before was suddenly replaced with a scowl.

"Blaine you know that he's apologised – he feels terrible about what he did," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"That doesn't change the fact that it's happened," said Blaine, raising his voice slightly. "You think guys like that stop being violent just because they've said sorry?"

"Just because you have your own unresolved bully issues does not mean you can comment on everyone else's. God, you think you're such a hero!" said Kurt, now fuming with anger. He hated it when people acted like experts and told him what he should or should not be doing.

"I'm not commenting because of my fucking bullying issues! I'm your boyfriend, Kurt! I care about you!" Blaine was yelling and heads were popping out of the choir room to see what all the commotion was. Neither of them noticed. "I really can't believe that you're trying to turn me into the bad guy now! You're the one who was kissing another guy!"

Kurt's expression softened into guilt again. Despite Blaine's unfair assumptions about Dave, he was right. He had kissed back. He tried to think about how he would feel if he was in the same position as Blaine and he realized that Blaine's anger was justified.

"I do love you," he said softly, knowing that it wouldn't do anything to help.

"I believe you," said Blaine softly, and Kurt felt his heart swell with the possibility that he might not have completely screwed this up. "The thing is, Kurt, it's not just me that you have feelings for and we can't move on from here unless you sort out what those feelings are. It's not fair to me, you... or even Karofsky."

Kurt nodded feeling like his body was made of lead. He hung his head as shame coursed through his veins like lava and he didn't know what to say. When he looked up again, Blaine had already reached the door that led to the parking lot. Filled with an ache he couldn't get rid of, Kurt went back to the changing room and removed his makeup in silence, ignoring the whispers behind him. He didn't know how, but he needed to make everything right with Blaine again.

The only problem was that he wasn't sure whether that was what he really wanted anymore. As he thought of Dave and the kiss that had started all this drama, he felt a thrill at the pit of his stomach.

More confused than he had ever been in his entire life, Kurt made his way home and collapsed onto his bed, falling asleep without even changing into his night clothes.

* * *

><p>"Karofsky was definitely the one who started it though."<p>

"Yeah, but Blaine's pissed off about Kurt kissing back."

The RENT cast were sitting at their favourite spot at the Lima Bean and the only thing that any of them could think about was the Kurt and Blaine fight of the previous night. All their lectures on gossip forgotten, each of them was anxious to give their own opinions on the drama.

"I don't think Kurt was kissing him back though," offered Tina, "maybe he was just trying to make the best of a very bad situation."

"Please," said Santana rolling her eyes, "Ladypants wanted it. Bad. You could totally see it written all over his face."

"Enough!" said Mercedes, standing up and letting go of Sam's hand to bang her fist angrily on the table.

"What's the problem, Mercedes?" asked Brittany with her head cocked to the side.

"Yeah, you're usually the first to give your opinion on whatever's going on," said Puck, frowning a little.

"Well maybe I've realized that that's a shitty way to be a friend," she said, glaring at Puck, who looked down at his hands guiltily. She grinned inwardly that she could cause that kind of reaction, but masked it as she stared angrily at the rest of them. "Look y'all," she said, "I know that it's big news and that it's tempting to talk about it, but it's their problem. They need to sort it out for themselves. I'm sorry, but if you're all gonna carry on picking apart my best friend's relationship like it's part of some damn TV show, then I'm out."

She picked up her bag and began making her way out of the crowded cafe.

"I'm out too," said Sam, without half the conviction of Mercedes and clearly confused as to what was really happening. However, his exit still seemed to have the same effect. The remaining glee-clubbers looked at each other guiltily, each of them feeling as bad as the other, but none wanting to comment on it. Finally, with a cough, Rachel broke the silence.

"So did you see that Yada Adams and Trent Smith are going out?"

Mercedes looked over at them on the other side of the cafe, shaking her head. "They just don't stop."

"Well, you kinda gossip too," said Sam, honestly. Mercedes glared at him. "I – I mean you also offer commentary on relevant topics!" he added, trying to cover his tracks. Mercedes sighed.

"No, you're right. I do exactly the same thing. It just bugs me when it's about Kurt, you know?"

Sam nodded, and put an arm over her shoulder, holding her close and planting a small kiss on the top of her head. Mercedes looked up at him with a small smile.

"I need to go see him," said Mercedes, her smile faltering a little. "Do you mind if we cut today short? I think he needs someone to talk to and well, it's me, Rachel or his dad. He needs me."

Sam chuckled a little, placing a small kiss on Mercedes' lips. "Do what you have to. I'll hang out with the others. See you tonight."

"See you," Mercedes said, reluctantly letting go of Sam and making her way to her car with a huge grin in place. She'd have to wipe it off by the time she reached Kurt, but at the moment she was enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling she had growing from the pit of her stomach.

* * *

><p>Kurt was woken up by his phone buzzing next to him on the nightstand. It was a text from Mercedes to say she'd be there in five minutes. Kurt jumped up and felt himself squirm when he realised that he hadn't changed from his clothes the previous night. He felt like such a slob. Hastily grabbing his planned outfit for the day, he jumped into his en-suite shower and scrubbed himself hastily, feeling relief at the warm water down his spine.<p>

Five minutes later, feeling much cleaner and more put-together, he answered the door to Mercedes, who immediately gave him a huge hug.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked in a strangled voice over her shoulder. Mercedes let go of him, giving him a concerned look.

"You know perfectly well why I'm here," she said, with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm really not in the mood to talk about it 'Cedes," said Kurt, feeling his stomach drop a little at the reminder of the previous night's events.

"Tough shit," said Mercedes, grabbing his hand and pulling him up the stairs, stopping briefly to say a quick hello to Kurt's dad who was eating a fruit salad for breakfast. "You need to. And I'm not going to judge."

Kurt rolled his eyes as his best friend steered him into his room and plonked him down on his bed. She sat next to him and took one of his hands in both of hers, her dark eyes meeting his grey ones as she gave him a small smile.

"I kissed him back, 'Cedes," he said sadly, feeling a stray tear running down his cheek. "I kissed him back and now I've ruined _everything_."

"Hey," she said, rubbing her thumb over his unnaturally soft hand, "it's okay, hon. We'll find a way to sort this out. When you kissed Karof... I mean Dave, what was going through your mind?"

"I like him," he said, using his free hand to wipe his cheek. "I know I do and all these rehearsals have been really confusing for me. I just – I guess I wanted to know if kissing him would be as amazing as I was imagining it would be."

"And was it?" Mercedes asked, with a concerned look.

"In the moment," sighed Kurt. "But afterwards I felt miserable. I'm definitely in love with Blaine, but I don't know when or if these feelings for Dave will go away. What if they don't? I can't be with Blaine then, but I can't be with Dave if I'm in love with Blaine. I just don't know what to do."

"Well, it's not fair to either of them to keep them on a string like this."

"So I have to choose?"

Mercedes nodded. "Yeah," she said. "It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be a lot worse if you don't."

Kurt took a deep breath, his mind made up as to what he was going to do.

He just hoped he was doing the right thing.

* * *

><p>Dave smiled despite himself. He was sitting on his own in the Lima Bean, completely overwhelmed with the events of the past twenty four hours. He had performed in front of an audience – who had loved it, he should note – he had sung one of his favourite songs somewhere other than the shower...<p>

...and he had kissed Kurt Hummel. Really kissed him. Which had led to him talking to his parents about his sexuality. His parents, while not completely thrilled, seemed to understand that it was how it was going to be. To be honest, they seemed a little relieved – as if his behaviour from the previous year was explained. His dad had even said he was proud of him.

Honestly it was as if nothing could get him down. He couldn't shake the smile on his face as he sipped on his hot coffee, even though he knew he looked like an idiot. Through his happy haze, he noticed someone entering the packed coffee shop. It was Anderson. Hastily shifting himself so he was hidden from view, he watched as he ordered himself a coffee and sat down at a table pretty near to his own. A few minutes later, Anderson was joined by Kurt, who looked less than happy. Feeling a small twinge of guilt at knowing he was at least part of the problem, he shook it off as he watched the exchange between them. Both of them looked pretty uncomfortable and by the look on Kurt's face, the conversation they were about to have wouldn't be an easy one for him.

"So," said Kurt awkwardly.

"Yeah?" asked Anderson with a raised eyebrow. Kurt was silent for a moment and he took a sip of his coffee to steady himself.

"I can't do this," he said eventually, so softly that Dave hadn't actually heard it. It was obviously what he had said though, because Anderson's next question was, "Do what?"

"You were right last night. I do have feelings for Dave and it's not fair on you for me to be with you if there are doubts." Kurt looked up with a worried look. Anderson simply stared back, clearly not sure what to do.

"You deserve so much better than me," Kurt continued.

"Don't say that," said Anderson. "Look, Kurt, I know I said some screwed-up things last night, but I didn't mean it all. I was just upset. We can work through this."

"Blaine, even if we do work through this, I still have these feelings for Dave," he replied, a tear making its way down his face. "Forgiveness doesn't change the situation."

"So you're going to leave me for Karofsky?" asked Anderson quietly.

"No, because I still love you. It wouldn't be fair on him either."

Dave felt his heart sink. He had been growing increasingly elated as the conversation was progressing, hearing Kurt admit that he felt the same way about him. But it didn't even matter, because once again, Kurt was proving himself to be the bigger person.

Not even caring if the other two saw him anymore, he stood up and made his way to his car. He should have seen it coming – Kurt pretty much always did the noble thing. When he was bullying him, instead of turning around and outing him like anyone else would have, he had kept his secret and transferred schools when it got too much to deal with. When he had been voted Prom Queen, instead of running away like most people would have done, he got himself coroneted and enjoyed the rest of his evening. Instead of joining in the Dave/Santana gossip like everyone else, he had stuck up for them and organised a huge project to distract everyone.

And now because he had feelings for both of them, he refused to be with either of them.

Feeling defeated, Dave made his way home, wondering how he was going to be able to work himself up by that evening's performance.

* * *

><p>"No, because I still love you. It wouldn't be fair on him either."<p>

Blaine allowed himself to let these words sink in before he replied. Kurt still loved him. Surely, _surely_ there was hope?

"But you don't _love_, Karofsky, Kurt. Please, Kurt – those things I said last night – please don't let this be over? Being with you has been the best thing that's happened to me in a long time and I –"

Kurt interrupted Blaine by pressing his lips firmly to his. The shorter boy gasped slightly, but Kurt only took this as an invitation to intensify the kiss. Their tongues explored each other's mouths insistently and while it wasn't spoken, the message was clear.

This was the last time they would do this.

They broke apart after a few minutes, out of breath and hardly caring that the entire coffee shop was staring at them. Tears stung in Blaine's eyes as he looked at the amazing person in front of him.

"Please, Kurt," he said in barely more than a whisper.

"I-I'm sorry," Kurt said shaking his head before standing up and leaving the cafe.

Blaine watched him leave, the taste of his coffee still on his lips, wondering how things had unravelled so fast.

* * *

><p>Kurt wondered vaguely if he should call in sick. He really didn't feel up to performing that night, especially with them both there, but with new resolve he changed his mind. If he was ever going to make it anywhere in life, he had to face up to his difficulties.<p>

So, putting on a brave face, he walked into the choir room that night. He didn't have much of a chance to look around though, as no sooner had he entered than Mercedes and Rachel were attacking him in a firm hug.

"I told her what was going on," said Mercedes into his ear as they stood hugging each other.

"You're amazing, Kurt," said Rachel. "I apologize if I forget to tell you that again in the future, but you are. I could never do the things you've done this year."

"We love you, Kurt," said Mercedes.

"I love you too," said Kurt, unable to hold back the tears that had been threatening to fall all afternoon. The three of them stood like that for a while longer before Kurt broke apart.

"Well, I'm going to the bathroom to compose myself and salvage what I can from my complexion. You girls better get ready."

Both girls nodded, wiping their own eyes before giving him another hug and running off to change into their costumes. Kurt smiled and made his way to the bathroom to do some damage control. His heart almost stopped when he saw Dave hunched over one of the sinks looking seriously at himself in the mirror. He straightened up when he saw Kurt and attempted to put on a smile, which Kurt immediately saw straight through.

"Hey, Dave," he said, hastily composing himself and taking a step nearer to the footballer. "What's up?"

"N-nothing. Just nervous about tonight, I guess," said Dave.

"This isn't just about tonight, though, I can tell," said Kurt. With a nervous look up at the taller boy, he added, "Is it about coming out to your parents?"

"No," said Dave. "They actually took it pretty well." With a deep breath, he figured he should tell him the truth. "I was in the Lima Bean earlier today and I overheard you talking to And – I mean Blaine – and well, I heard what you said about having feelings for me."

Kurt's stomach plummeted. He was hoping to pretend that there were no feelings for Dave and just let it fade, but now that he knew, everything was different.

"I also heard what you said about not being with me or him," Dave continued, "and I respect that. I'm not going to try to change your mind."

"But?" said Kurt sensing there was more.

"But," said Dave taking a step towards Kurt and closing the gap between their bodies, "just one time, I want to kiss you, really kiss you, and have you know about it before it happens."

Kurt swallowed and suddenly the only thing he could think of was Dave's lips pressed against his. He wondered what it would be like anticipating them, what it would be like to close his eyes and wait for the warm breath on his face, what it would be like to stand on his toes and fill the rest of the gap between them...

Kurt shook his head slowly. It was a bad idea. The last thing he needed was to add things to whatever this was. But Dave was looking down at him pleadingly and Kurt could tell that he needed the closure just as much as he did. So he gave a small nod and Dave immediately took a step closer so that their bodies were pressed together. Kurt closed his eyes, his heart hammering inside his chest. This was unlike the first two times Dave had kissed him, because this time he felt the same way and he knew it was going to happen.

It wasn't a spectacular kiss – it was nothing like their kiss of the previous night anyway – but it held so much more emotion. Dave was careful not to exceed Kurt's intensity and as a result their kiss was soft and sweet. When Kurt pulled away, Dave smiled sadly.

"Thank you," he said. It was all he could say. Kurt smiled back sadly, unable to find words to reply with. Instead he nodded and turned to head back to the choir room, finally convinced that he had done the right thing.

* * *

><p>Kurt's senior year passed in a blur of Glee club meetings, exams, competitions, friendships and decisions. Finally though, he was on a plane on his way to reaching his dreams. He almost couldn't contain his excitement. Not only was he on his way to New York City with an internship to one of the top fashion magazines in the country, but he was leaving with his three best friends. Rachel, Mercedes and Blaine would all be studying at a college for the performing arts and they would all be sharing an apartment.<p>

Kurt laughed at the three of them sitting in the row in front of them. Rachel and Blaine were in a deep argument over which song from _Cats_ was the best and Mercedes was bobbing her head to whatever awesome radio station she had found to listen to.

He smiled to himself, glad that he had had this year to work on himself. He and Blaine had become really close friends and it wasn't awkward at all, something which Kurt would be eternally grateful for. Blaine had just started on a fresh argument about how it was the Rum Tum Tugger's song because of the timeless classic-rock feel to it and Rachel was trying to defend _Memory_ by stating that it was one of the most famous ballads in the world.

He was so involved in their conversation that he barely noticed someone sit down next to him and only really looked around when he heard the click of the seatbelt. His eyes widened when he did notice him though. He was pretty damn gorgeous.

"Hi, I'm Jason," said the guy, stretching out a hand for Kurt to shake, which he took, still staring stupidly at him, trying to take in his dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "You have a name too, I take it?" Jason added, raising a playful eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry," he replied, shaking his head a little. "It's Kurt."

"Nice to meet you," he said with a grin.

"Are you also heading to New York?" Kurt asked, realising how stupid the question was after he asked it.

"Shit! Is that where this plane is going?" asked Jason in mock panic, before collapsing into a laughing fit. The sound sent shivers up Kurt's spine. He caught his friend's eye through the gap between his and Rachel's seats and Kurt had to bite back a laugh as Blaine mouthed "Yeah, get some!"

As it turned out, Jason was pretty much perfect. He was an actor and singer on his way to New York to study at the same college as Mercedes, Blaine and Rachel and to seal the deal, about halfway through the flight he pulled out his iPod, offering one of the earphones to Kurt. _Government Hooker_ was playing.

"You like Gaga?" asked Kurt, with a surprised smile.

"_Like_ is an understatement. I worship her. She is my religion," Jason said with a completely serious look. "What about you?"

"Same," Kurt said, unable to articulate more than single syllables anymore. Jason chuckled and began to explain about why he loved her and her music.

By the time the wheels touched down in JFK, they had exchanged numbers and made plans to meet up for coffee at some point in the future.

"You are one lucky son of a gun," said Mercedes as she watched Jason pick up his luggage at the carousel. "That is one damn fine piece of man."

"When you guys get married, I get to be maid of honour, right?" asked Blaine with a wink.

"Guys," said Kurt rolling his eyes, "I honestly don't know if I'll ever see him again."

"Yeah, but do you want to?" asked Rachel.

"So badly."

* * *

><p><strong>SIX YEARS LATER<strong>

Kurt couldn't help but stand as he applauded the amazing cast of RENT on the stage below. He had always loved this musical, even before he had been able to see it on Broadway like he was now. And this was not just any performance – tonight was a special opening night.

As the curtain fell again and people began making their way back to reality, Kurt made his way backstage. After flashing his press badge to a security guard, he made his way to the changing rooms, his thumb running over a small velvet box in his pocket as he went. He smiled nervously to himself, knowing that if he didn't do it now, he would never do it.

He smiled as he ran into Rachel, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. "Is he there?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, he's just changing and removing his make-up," she said, practically jumping up and down with excitement. "I can't believe this is actually happening."

"Me neither," said Kurt, unable to suppress a large and nervous grin. "By the way, you were amazing tonight. I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks, hon," she said, beaming. "Now get in there and win your man."

Kurt didn't need telling twice. He knocked on the dressing room door and after hearing a muffled "come in" he opened the door.

"Oh hey there gorgeous," said Jason, hastily wiping down his face, pausing only to flash a smile at his boyfriend. Kurt crossed the room swiftly and before Jason could say anything further, Kurt had pressed his lips firmly to his boyfriend's. Jason stopped what he was doing and relaxed into the kiss, feeling like the world around him had stopped. When they broke apart, Kurt sat down on the chair next to Jason's.

"There's something I want to ask you," Kurt said, a nervous flush creeping into his cheeks.

"Should I be scared?" asked Jason, injecting his humour into the situation like he always did when he wasn't sure of what was going on.

"No," said Kurt. "If anyone here is scared – it's me."

Jason's eyes looked questioningly at Kurt and he had to take a deep breath to continue what he had planned to say.

"I love you, Jason. I love you more than I could possibly begin to explain. These past six years have been the best years of my life and I know that it's because of you. You are my dream come true and on this night when your dreams are finally starting to come true, I wanted to ask you if you'd do me the honour of letting me be the one who is there to see all of them come true?"

At this Kurt did the customary thing and got down on one knee, producing the velvet box from his pocket. He could see tears begin to form in Jason's eyes.

"Jason Lee Andrews, will you marry me?"

Unable to form words, he simply nodded and climbed off his chair to kneel on the floor so he could hug Kurt better. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Kurt said, "I really want to see how the ring looks on you."

Jason pulled back, wiping his eyes with the moist towelette he was still clutching in his hand as Kurt placed the simple white-gold band onto his ring-finger.

"I love you so much," said Kurt with a smile.

"I love you too," said Jason, beaming and crying at the same time, face still full of makeup.

"I'll meet you outside when you're ready," said Kurt, taking his fiancée's hands and helping him up as he himself stood. I'm taking you somewhere to celebrate."

Jason grinned and pulled Kurt into a fierce kiss, only stopping when it became absolutely necessary to breathe again.

"See you then," he winked and Kurt felt his stomach do a back-flip. After six years, Jason still had that effect on him. He left the room before the desire to take him right there overcame him. After the stuffiness of the theatre, the cold New York air was welcome. He was so busy enjoying it that he didn't even notice the someone coming through the theatre door and he walked straight into them.

"Sorry, sir," he said, "didn't see you th-"

He stopped halfway through the sentence because he realized that the person he had just run into was Dave Karofsky.

"Kurt?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"Dave!" Kurt smiled and hugged the taller man briefly. "What brings you to New York?"

"My husband's competing in a national skating competition, thought we'd come check out RENT while we were in town," said Dave, beaming as he spoke.

"Oh, Finn mentioned that you got married! Congrats! Did he come with you tonight or...?"

"Yeah, he's waiting just up the street in a cab. I told him I had to rush back and use the little boy's room," Dave said, motioning to a yellow taxi parked along the side of the road. "What about you? How have you been?"

"Well, I've been a New Yorker for the past six years," said Kurt with a smile, "been working as a fashion journalist."

"That's great," said Dave with a smile. "You still with... uh..."

"Jason?" Kurt offered.

"Yeah, are you still with Jason?" Dave asked curiously.

"Yep. In fact, we literally just got engaged. I asked him about five minutes ago."

"What?" said Dave with a massive grin, giving Kurt another huge hug. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," said Kurt with a smile. Suddenly there was a shout of "Dave!" from down the street to which Dave replied that he was on his way.

"It was really great catching up, Kurt. See you around, okay?" With one last smile, he turned and jogged up the street to the other man. Kurt smiled and waved after him.

"Who was that?" asked Jason a second later, lacing his fingers through Kurt's and beaming at him.

"An old friend," said Kurt with a smile. "Now, I need to take my fiancée out to dinner for the first time. You coming?"

"Haha, you're so funny," said Jason sarcastically, taking hold of Kurt's arm as they hailed a taxi. Kurt couldn't resist kissing Jason on the cheek as they climbed into the cab. Even though his life was pretty chaotic, he knew that he would always draw on this moment because it was perfect.

As he passed a Billboard for RENT he smiled, silently thanking the musical that had started it all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay guys, don't hate me because of the ending. Everyone is happy okay? I promise. **

**But thank you for reading. You guys are all amazing. xxxx**


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